Albert Einstein was a German physicist who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century. He was born on March 14, 1879, in the city of Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, in what is now Germany. His father, Hermann Einstein, was a salesman and engineer, while his mother, Pauline Koch, was a homemaker. Einstein had one sister, Maja, who was two years younger than him.

As a child, Einstein was curious and independent-minded, and he did not do well in school. He had a love of learning and a deep interest in mathematics and physics, but he found the traditional teaching methods of his school stifling and unhelpful. His family moved several times during his childhood, and he eventually ended up in Switzerland, where he attended the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Einstein graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1900, and he began working as a patent clerk in Bern. It was during his time as a patent clerk that he developed many of the ideas that would later become the foundation of his groundbreaking work in physics. In 1905, Einstein published a series of papers that would revolutionize our understanding of the physical world.

In one of these papers, Einstein proposed the theory of special relativity, which showed that time and space are relative to the observer and that the speed of light is constant. This theory had profound implications for the field of physics and would eventually lead to the development of the famous equation E=mc^2, which shows the relationship between mass and energy.

In addition to his work on special relativity, Einstein also made important contributions to the field of quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of particles at the atomic and subatomic level. His work in this area helped to establish the idea of wave-particle duality, which states that particles can behave like waves and vice versa.

Einstein's work in physics made him one of the most famous and celebrated scientists of his time. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on photoelectric effect, which is the phenomenon whereby electrons are emitted from matter when it absorbs electromagnetic radiation, such as light. Einstein's work in this area helped to establish the field of quantum mechanics and laid the foundation for many technological advances, including solar cells and digital cameras.

Einstein's political and social views were also an important part of his legacy. He was a pacifist and a supporter of world peace, and he was involved in many political and social causes throughout his life. He was a vocal critic of the use of atomic weapons and worked to promote disarmament and peaceful coexistence between nations.

Einstein immigrated to the United States in 1933, where he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University until his death in 1955. During this time, he continued to work on many of the big questions in physics, including the nature of gravity and the relationship between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Today, Einstein is remembered as one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century. His work in physics transformed our understanding of the universe, and his social and political activism continue to inspire people around the world.