“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” -Albert Einstein. He was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. As a young child Albert revealed a talent for understanding extraordinary science. Einstein took music lessons, playing both the violin and piano, a passion that followed him into adulthood. First moving to Italy then to Switzerland, he graduated from high school in 1896.

In 1915, Einstein completed his General Theory of Relativity and in 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. His name soon became a well-known genius all over the world. Einstein immigrated to the United States in the fall of 1933 and started living in Princeton, New Jersey. At first he just went to visit the United States, but then Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, and he decided to stay, because he was helping with the atomic bomb and also Albert was jewish and Hitler was taking over and so he escaped. Albert became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945. Einstein and a couple other scientist sent a letter to Roosevelt saying that he should invest in the research of the atomic bomb, Albert knew that FDR loved history, so he persuaded him through that.

Einstein always said that his years in Zurich were some of the happiest of his life. He met many students who were loyal friends, such as Marcel Grossmann, a mathematician, and Michele Besso, who he enjoyed conversations about space and time. That’s where he also met his wife, Mileva Maric. In January, 1902, the couple had a daughter, Lieserl, who either died of sickness or was given up for adoption. At this point he was at the lowest time of his life, He could not marry Maric and support a family without a job, and his father’s business had gone bankrupt. About this time, his father became very ill and just before he died, he gave his son the blessing for him to marry. With a small income, Einstein married Maric on Jan. 6, 1903. In May, 1904 they had their first son, Hans Albert. Their second son, Eduard, was born in 1910.

Albert always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and had the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the way to achieve his goal. After he retired he continued to work towards physics, and also taking different approaches toward physics. He is considered one of the most influential physicist of the 20th century.