A fat baby with large head, the greatest genius of his time, a man whose contributions to science and mathematics have been matched by just a handful of others throughout history is none other than, Albert Einstein.
On the birthday of this great scientist, we would like to tell our readers about various interesting and unheard facts about Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He moved to the United States at a time when the Nazi regime put a $5,000 bounty of his head. Know more about the world’s smartest genius here.
Surprising and Unheard Facts about Albert Einstein’s Childhood, Brain, Theories, Work, Married life etc.
1. Birth:
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany to parents Hermann Einstein and Pauline Einstein. At age 29, his father married Pauline Koch. She was eleven years his junior. He was born at 11:30 am on Friday, March 14, 1879.
His parents planned to name the boy Abraham, after his paternal grandfather. But thought that the name was “too Jewish” and ended up naming him Albert.
2. Fat baby with Large Head:
Albert had a fat head at the time he was born. When Albert’s mother, Pauline Einstein gave birth to him, she thought that Einstein's head was so big and misshapen that he was deformed. This even startled his grandmother when they saw him for the first time.
However, the fat head slowly receded and turned into a normal size.
3. Speech Difficulty as a Child:
As a child, Einstein rarely spoke. When he did, he spoke very slowly - indeed, he tried out entire sentences in his head (or muttered them under his breath) until he got them right before he spoke aloud.
According to accounts, Einstein did this until he was nine years old. Interestingly, Einstein's parents were fearful that he was retarded.
4. Childhood Days:
Einstein spent his teenage years in Munich. His family operated an electrical equipment business in the city. At a young age, he liked to work on puzzles, erect complex structures with his toy building sets.
According to his sister Maja Einstein, Albert Einstein could erect card structures as high as fourteen stories. His ability to stay with problems longer than most others demonstrated that persistence and tenacity were already part of his character.
5. His Friend:
Albert Einstein was affected by the company of a medical student whom he invited for a meal every Thursday. Talmud, the student, brought him science books, including a popular illustrated series called People’s Books on Natural Sciences.
The company of these books aroused Einstein’s interest to a large extent in sciences which he pursued until the very end of his life. He also introduced to Einstein the subject of geometry with a book two years before he was scheduled to learn it in school.
6. School:
Einstein was not comfortable in school and he did not like the style of teaching. He did not believe in the systematic training in the worship of authority and instead promoted individuality and free thinking without any bias.
He once stated, “A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth.”
7. Psychiatric Disorder:
Einstein, throughout his life, had a mild form of echolalia, which caused him to repeat phrases to himself, two or three times, especially if he liked them. He liked to think in pictures, an important tactic of some of the world’s most renowned thinkers and scientists including Nikola Tesla.
8. Brain:
The parietal lobe in Einstein’s brain was 15% larger than that of an average brain. In 1955, after the death of the famous physicist and scientist, Albert Einstein, his body was cremated and ashes scattered.
Though, the only part of his body that was retained by pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital while conducting his autopsy was his brain. Thomas Harvey was later fired from the hospital for not returning Einstein’s brain, which he removed during the autopsy.
9. Interest for Science:
His interest in science came from a pocket compass, which was shown to him by his father when Einstein was five years old. He wondered what made the needlepoint in a certain direction and not anywhere else.
There came the beginning of his long and illustrious career in science, which made him renowned around the world.
10. Favorite Scientist:
Einstein’s favorite scientist was Galileo Galilei.
11. Not a Good Student:
Einstein’s teachers did not consider him a good student and even refused to recommend him for further employment.
12. Failure at 16:
Einstein is said to have failed an exam at the age of 16 that would have let him train to become an electrical engineer.
13. Forgetfulness:
It was a big part of his personality since his childhood days. He would often leave behind his suitcase and could not keep track of his keys.
14. Citizenship:
Einstein was born German and a Jew. He renounced his German citizenship in 1896 and became a Swiss citizen in 1901. However, he died in 1955 as an American citizen.
Einstein received his Swiss citizenship on the condition that he will be able to get a permanent job in the country. He wanted to be a Swiss citizen because he admired the country which respected the individuality and privacy of its residents.
15. Not a Swimmer:
Albert Einstein never learned to swim. Though, he loved sailing and continued to do so as a hobby throughout his life.
16. Pain in Socks:
Interestingly, Einstein never wore socks. He thought wearing socks was a pain. He would often get holes in them.
17. Loves Smoking:
Einstein’s love for smoking was so much that he credited his pipe smoking with a calming and judgmental effect. The technique to visualize things and experiments helped him a great deal.
18. Curious Mind:
Einstein had an analytical and curious mind at a very young age, showing great abilities in both mathematics and science.
Do You Know?
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Albert Einstein co-invented a refrigerator that would work on compressed gases.
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He is also considered the man behind the inventions like- the photoelectric cells, lasers, nuclear power, fiber optics and even semiconductors.
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Interestingly, it took Einstein 9 years before he could finally land at his first job after graduation from the Zurich Polytechnic in 1900. Einstein had trouble getting an academic job.
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Sir Isaac Newton was born the year when Galileo Galilei died and Einstein was born the year that Maxwell died.
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Einstein wrote his first essay on theoretical physics at the age of 16 with the title “on the Investigation of the State of the Ether in a Magnetic Field.”
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Einstein had a poor memory. He could not remember names, dates or phone numbers.
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He won Nobel Prize in 1921 “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.”
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He loved violin, sailing and bird watching. Hated socks and haircuts.
Krishi Jagran wishes German Genius, Prominent Mathematician and Physicist Albert Einstein, A Very Happy Birthday!!!
