Albert Einstein: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

New quantum device could precisely measure how Earth twists and drags space-time around it • Nov. 11, 2026, 12:25 PM ET (Live Science)

Einstein's equations reveal how gravity could break, reconnect, and release energy • Nov. 8, 2026, 5:16 PM ET (Science Daily)

Physicists sank a telescope 1.5 miles under the sea to put Einstein's relativity to the test • Nov. 5, 2026, 6:00 AM ET (Live Science)

Einstein's equations may explain the universe without dark energy • Oct. 29, 2026, 8:09 AM ET (Science Daily)

Can gravitational fields break and reconnect? Einstein's equations suggest they can • Oct. 28, 2026, 11:00 AM ET (Phys.org)

Facts

Born	March 14, 1879 • Ulm • Germany
Died	April 18, 1955 (aged 76) • Princeton • New Jersey
Awards And Honors	Copley Medal (1925) • Nobel Prize (1921)
Notable Family Members	spouse Mileva Marić-Einstein
Subjects Of Study	Brownian motion • E=mc² • Einstein’s mass-energy relation • gravitation • gravitational wave • light • mass-energy equivalence • photoelectric effect • photon • relativity • space-time • special relativity • unified field theory

Did You Know?

J. Edgar Hoover's FBI hoped to unmask Einstein as a Soviet spy and maintained almost constant surveillance of Einstein. His FBI file totaled 1,800 pages.
Einstein adored playing violin and said that if he had not gone into physics, he likely would have become a musician.
Einstein's brain was removed without permission during his autopsy and was sent to be tested for its perceived secrets.

Photos and Videos

Portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

Black-and-white photograph of Albert Einstein as a young child, dressed in a dark outfit with a large bow, standing beside an ornate chair in a studio setting.

Black-and-white portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, facing slightly to the right with a neutral expression.

black and white photograph of Albert Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Marić-Einstein

Sepia-toned portrait of Albert Einstein by Doris Ulmann, 1931, showing Einstein seated and looking to the side in a suit.

Albert Einstein shakes hands with Judge Phillip Forman while receiving his American citizenship certificate, surrounded by onlookers.

Albert Einstein, seated and smiling, is surrounded by a group of children and adults who are gathered closely around him at his home in Princeton on his 70th birthday.

Portrait of Albert Einstein around 1947, showing him with white hair and mustache, wearing a tweed jacket and looking toward the camera.

Portrait of Albert Einstein wearing a suit and tie, with tousled hair and a mustache, looking slightly upward.

Brian Greene sits in a living room, holding a pen, with handwritten equations m = E/c^2 and E = mc^2 on a whiteboard beside him, highlighting c^2 as the speed of light.

Diagram illustrating Brownian motion, showing red and brown circles representing particles above and below a blue wavy line, with many small gray dots symbolizing atoms.

Physicist Brian Greene speaks in front of a window, with a digital illustration of the solar system and curved planetary orbits shown beside him.

Hand-drawn illustration showing a graph of intensity versus energy, with arrows pointing to a light bulb and particles, a wavy line above, and two surprised stick figures in top hats.

Split image showing Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer at a chalkboard on the left and actor Cillian Murphy portraying Oppenheimer with a cigarette and hat on the right.

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