Born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany, Einstein read Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason at a young age. He studied physics at the Swiss Polytechnic Institute, eventually earning a PhD. While working at the Patent Office in 1905, he published four papers and a PhD thesis. The two papers that brought him the most fame were on Relativity and the Photoelectric Effect; the latter was the basis for the 1921 Nobel Prize.

The Theory of Relativity actually consists of the Theory of Special Relativity and the Theory of General Relativity, and it is a theory of astonishing grace and creativity.

Three implications of Special Relativity are time dilation, length contraction, and the Twin Paradox. The Twin Paradox is the most remarkable of ideas: A twin who travels in a spaceship at relativistic speeds is younger than his twin on Earth when the two are re-united. Essentially, the theory has two principles: 1) light travels at a constant c in a vacuum; and 2) all the laws of physics operate the same to neutral observers.

Not until 1915 did Einstein prove General Relativity, which is special relativity reconciled with the Theory of Gravity. It essentially means that gravity bends light and warps spacetime. It was confirmed by Eddington in 1919.

The number of times the Theory of Relativity has been confirmed can hardly be numbered. Those who seek to refute it are on the road to nowhere. It is conceivable, however, that an exception to the Law of Relativity may be found. Otherwise, it is the bedrock of physics along with Gravity, Mechanics, and Electromagnetism.

According to Einstein, his biggest mistake was the cosmological constant. This was a fudge factor he introduced to explain the expansion of the universe. His famous quote “God doesn’t play with dice” shows a certain discomfort with Quantum Physics.

He suffered terrible persecution from the Nazis and left Germany for the U.S. in 1932, where he taught at Princeton. 100 Scientists against Einstein was a group of German scientists who published in the New York Times their opposition to Einstein’s theories. With a wry tone, Einstein essentially responded, “Were I wrong, one professor would have been quite enough.”

In 1937, Einstein reluctantly wrote to President Roosevelt that the Theory of Relativity created the possibility of a bomb capable of enormous force, and he encouraged the President to begin a bomb design program because he was concerned that Hitler was attempting to build an atomic bomb.

Offered the presidency of Israel after the war, he declined. He died in 1955, a much loved American.