Albert Einstein is known as one of the greatest scientists of all time. He proposed many great theories such as the Special Theory of Relativity, the General Theory of Relativity and E=mc2. (Einstein is famous for these theories and for his help in developing the laser.) He also influences many other scientists in the study of quantum theory and the cosmos. Know that one will truly understand what was going on in this man's mind, but he was without a doubt one of the greatest men of all time. The following is a description of this great scientist. Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879. He was born to Herman and Pauline Einstein, middle-class German Jews. Einstein was a very bright child; a magnetic compass sparked his interest in the natural world at the young age of four. Einstein began his formal education at a school in Ulm. Contrary to what you might think, Albert hated formal education. He often performed poorly in subjects such as geography, language and history, but excelled in mathematics and science. He generally did his actual studies at home where he concentrated on physics, mathematics and philosophy. One year one of Einstein's teachers suggested he leave school, so mid-term the 15-year-old boy left school. Einstein then moved to Italy to help his father in business. In 1895 he failed the entrance exam to the Federal Polytechnic. They suggested he study at a Swiss school in Aarau. There he studied the theories of electromagnetism, of James Clark Maxwell. At the age of 16 he wrote an essay on why he would like to study theoretical mathematics or physics. He stated: "All above is my individual disposition for abstract and mathematical thinking, my lack of imagination in practical talent. My inclinations have also led me to decide that it is quite natural; one always likes to do things you have a talent for. And there is a certain independence in the scientific profession that I really enjoy." He graduated from the Swiss school in 1896 at the age of 17. Then he was accepted at the Polytechnic University of Zurich. It is here that he met his first wife, Melvia Merich; she was the only girl in her physics class. Together they had a daughter, Lieserl, who was given up for adoption and never seen or heard from again. These documents were confiscated by the Nazi government. The Nazis put Einstein at the top of the list of people deprived of German citizenship. Einstein moved to the United States to escape Nazi Germany and also settled in Princeton, New Jersey with Elsa. After the outbreak of World War II, Einstein urged President Roosevelt, after a series of letters, to promote the study of nuclear war energy and its effects. He was informed that Nazi Germany had the intelligence to create nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Einstein then became a citizen of the United States, he also remained a Swiss citizen. He remained in the United States until his death in 1955. Einstein died of heart failure on April 16 in Princeton, New Jersey. Einstein was one of the greatest scientists of all time, he discovered theories that no one else had ever thought of and created a completely different way of looking at the natural world. Bibliography http//:www.alp.org/history/einsteinearly1.htmhttp ://www.groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/mathematicians/Einstein.htmlhttp://library.advanced.org/ 11924/einstieninfo.htmlEncyclopedia Britannica On LineWorld Book Multimedia Encyclopedia CD-ROM