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Albert Einstein's Birth
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany to the parents of Herman Einstein and Pauline Koch. Herman was a salesman and engineer. In 1880, when Albert was one, his family moved to Munich where his father and his uncle founded a company that manufactured electrical equipment. This event is significant because Albert would go on to become arguably the most influential physicist of the 20th century. Source: (Meadows 229) -
Einstein is shown his fathers pocket compass
When Albert was five, resting in bed because he was ill, his father showed him his compass. The compass impressed Albert because the iron needle always pointed north, not dependent on the direction the case was turned. The compass persuaded Alfred that something was "behind things, something hidden." This event is important because it is the first time Albert became interested in the field of science. Source: (Ferfestman) -
Orville Wright piolets first airplane
On December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright piloted the first airplane that was heavier than air and was able to achieve controlled flight while a pilot was onboard. Orville flew the plane 20 feet in the air for 12 seconds and covering 120 feet of the North Carolinian beach. This event is significant because it was the first time an aircraft had been flown. The world would be very different without airplanes. Source: (The Wright Brothers) -
Einstein publishes article about the Photoelectric Effect
The photoelectric effect is when light shines onto the surface of a metal, that metal gives up, or emits, electrons. Heinrich Hertz was the first physicist to discover the photoelectric effect. In 1905, Albert published a series of papers which explained why the photoelectric effect work. This is significant because Albert won the Noble Prize for Physics for his work regarding the photoelectric effect. Source: (Schwinger 39) -
Einstein composes Quantum Theory
In March of 1905, Einstein composed his idea of the quantum theory of light. This idea proposed that light exists in tiny particles, which he identified as photons. This event is significant because many of the ideas used in the Quantum Theory helped Danish physicist Niels Bohr create a new model of an atom. Source: (Einstein Theory) -
Einstein creates Special Theory of Relativity
In June of 1905, Einstein published his Special Theory of Relativity. Einstein refers to light as a “continuous field of waves.” Later, Einstein created an extension of it, where Einstein introduced his famous equation, E=mc2. This equation proved that energy and matter are linked. This event is important because Einstein created an equation that could predict the energy content in a body about a million times faster than by physiochemical means. Source: (Einstein Theory) -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is killed
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Ferdinand was next in line to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This event created tension in the Balkans. This event is significant because the assassination started a chain of events that would lead to the start of World War I, which started only a month later. Source: (Outbreak of World War I) -
Einstein creates General Theory of Relativity
In 1915, eight years after he started working on his product, Einstein released the General Theory of Relativity. This theory addresses gravity and space. Einstein believes that space has four-dimensional time that is curved which is what we feel as we think of the force of gravity. This event is significant because Einstein displayed that “matter and energy actually mold the shape of space and the flow on time.” Source: (Stuewer 542) -
Einstein is award Nobel Prize in Physics
Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics because of his contributions to the photoelectric effect. Many historians believe that Einstein actually won the award because of his general theory of relativity, but since the theory was controversial at the time of the awarding, the committee decided to award him for the photoelectric theory. This event is significant because it was a very prestigious award for someone to win and gave Einstein confidence. Source: (Meadows 235) -
Einstein predicts a new type of matter
In 1924, Einstein began to expand on the work of Satyendra Nath Bose, and attempted to find a new matter. This “new matter” occurs when all of the atoms melt into one so-called “superatom.” Einstein was never able to create the matter, but in 1995, scientists formed the matter Einstein had correctly predicted. This is significant because without his prediction, this matter might never have been created. Source: (Bose-Einstein Condensate) -
Adolf Hitler named chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg, named Adolf Hitler the chancellor of Germany by appointing him to leader of the Nazi Party. His plan was to get rid of politics and make Germany a world power that had a unified one-party state. This event is significant because Hitler would assume absolute dictatorship of Germany a few weeks after being named chancellor. While he was the dictator, he started a chain of events that lead to World War II. Source: (Adolf Hitler is Named) -
Einstein writes a letter
On August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to then president of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt. This letter addressed the possibility that an “extremely powerful bomb” could be built in the “immediate future.” Einstein warned Roosevelt to attempt to develop nuclear experiments. This event is significant because Roosevelt put departments develop nuclear material, which would eventually save America because the U.S.A. built the atomic bomb before the Japanese. Source: (Bos) -
Germany invades Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany began to invade Poland. Germany quickly penetrated the country. At the end of the month, Poland had been completely captured and were under Nazi control. This event is significant because it lead both France and Great Britain to declare war on Germany because it supported Poland. This event was the start of World War II. Source: (World War II) -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes attack Pearl Harbor, a naval base controlled by the United States in Hawaii. The results of the “battle” were devastating: 2,000 American soldiers died as a result of the attack and another 1,000 were wounded. This is significant because President Franklin Roosevelt to declared war on Japan, who had allied with Germany. Over two years after the, the United States was involved in the Second World War. Source: (Pearl Harbor) -
United States bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945, an American bomber deployed the world’s first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. 90 percent of the city died instantly. Three days later, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 people. This event is significant because it lead Japan’s Emperor Hirohito to announce that Japan was surrendering its position in World War II. Source: (Bombing of Hiroshima) -
Einstein's Death
While Albert was working on a speech, he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was taken for treatment to the medical center at the University of Princeton. Einstein refused surgery and accepted his fate. Then next morning, on April 18, 1955, Albert Einstein died at the age of 76 in Princeton, New Jersey. This event is significant because one of the greatest thinkers and arguably the most influential physicist to ever walk the Earth died. Source: (Meadows 248)
