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4.13. A Brief Biographical Sketch Einstein was born in Germany on March 14, 1879. He was thought to have little scholastic ability, and in addition, was believed to be …

Abstract:

178 STORIES or FAMOUS SCIENTISTS was not to come to grips with his ethnic identity until many years later. By age 15 the family business failed and the family moved south to Milan, Italy. but without Albert; he remained behind to try to complete his schooling. But six months later, Albert, who resented the regimented format of Teutonic schooling and who had poor grades in geography, history, and languages, quit his secondary school studies in Munich without having received any diploma and joined the family in the more relaxed environment of Milan. In 1896, while thinking about continuing on with his education to college, Einstein’s distaste for Germany compelled him to renounce his German citi-zenship, despite the fact that he then became stateless. It was difﬁcult to con-tinue on to college without a formal high school diploma from Munich. So Albert decided to apply to the renowned Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, Switzerland, which did not require a diploma but where he would have to pass an entrance exam. He took the exam but failed. However, by doing preparatory studies in Switzerland for a year he ﬁnally passed the entrance examination. At the Polytechnic he focused on studies in mathematics and physics rather than on electrical engineering, as his family would have preferred, and graduated in 1900 at age 21. In 1901, he became a Swiss citizen. While in Zurich, Albert enjoyed the company of a number of women. One such during his college years was Mileva Maric, a mathematics student of Hungarian origin who was four years his senior. They became sweethearts and married in 1903. Einstein’s joy in women and his …