Albert Einstein

Born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879, he grew up in Munich and later studied in Switzerland. Early in his career he worked at the Swiss patent office, and in 1905 he published a remarkable set of papers that transformed physics, including work on special relativity and the photoelectric effect.

He went on to develop general relativity, a new way of understanding gravity that became one of the great scientific achievements of the 20th century. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded for his explanation of the photoelectric effect rather than relativity, and he became one of the most recognized scientists in the world.

After leaving Germany in the 1930s, he settled in the United States and worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton until his death on April 18, 1955. Alongside his scientific work, he was known for speaking out on public issues, and his curious, independent spirit helped turn him into a lasting cultural icon.