(1879 - 1955)
While working as a patent clerk in 1905, Albert Einstein published four papers in Annals of Physics, which, among other things, explained the mathematical basis for special relativity and put forth the equation E=MC2. When one aspect of his theory of general relativity was confirmed by the Royal Society in 1919, the London Times exclaimed, “Revolution in Science—New Theory of the Universe—Newton’s Ideas Overthrown—Momentous Pronouncement—Space ‘Warped.’”
The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.
—Albert Einstein, 1936Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury—to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
—Albert Einstein, 1931Nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind.
—Albert Einstein, 1929The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science.
—Albert Einstein, 1930Miscellany
During a total solar eclipse in 1919, astronomer and physicist Arthur Eddington observed from Príncipe Island that gravity bent the path of light to the degree predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Eddington went on to help popularize relativity and the idea that the universe was expanding. When asked how many people really understood his theories of universal expansion, he replied, “Perhaps seven.”
