Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Albert Einstein

Did Einstein show any signs of future greatness as an infant?

His first impression wasn't one of fame, no. Born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879, Albert was the first child of Pauline and Hermann Einstein. And to say the couple was less than impressed with their newborn son would be an understatement; they thought his head was grotesquely oversized. His parents described Albert to the delivering physician as a "monstrosity." The doctor convinced them that all infant heads appeared larger than normal and that Albert's body would grow to become more proportionate to his cranium. Of course, once that happened, his grandmother clucked over him and complained to his parents that the boy was "much too fat!"

Was he really a slow learner?

Did Einstein suffer from a neurological disorder?

Einstein's primary-school teachers reported that the child had a powerful and lingering distaste of authority. Coupled with his late-developing speech, some medical professionals have suggested this behavior as symptomatic of either autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Throughout his childhood and adult life, however, Albert did not exhibit any other behavior that would have been typical of such a diagnosis. He had no difficulty communicating with others, for example. He also demonstrated the emotional capacity to develop both close friendships and passionate relationships.

Is it true that Einstein failed math class as a primary-school student?

This "fact" has circulated for many decades, presumably as encouragement to those of us who actually did struggle with long division. In 1935, a Princeton rabbi showed Albert Einstein a Ripley's Believe It or Not! column that included the anecdote.

Einstein laughed and claimed that he'd been at the top of his class, even in primary school. "Before I was fifteen," he added, "I had mastered differential and integral calculus."

Aside from his theorems and formulae, did Einstein pursue anything else in his laboratory?

In a scenario fitting for a genius, love first bloomed for Albert in the physics lab at the Swiss Polytechnic School in 1901. There, he quickly attached himself to Mileva Maric, a brilliant young Serbian girl who was the only female physics student at the institute at that time. Soon, the two were inseparable. But Pauline, Albert's mother, did not approve of the girl. She felt Mileva was bookish and unattractive. Worse, she belonged to a different faith. "If she has a child," Pauline warned her son, "you'll be in a pretty mess." That was all the prompting Albert needed, and a year later, Mileva returned home to give birth to a daughter. They named the girl Lieserl and left her with Mileva's parents in Serbia, telling no one else of her existence. Some sources indicate that Lieserl was mentally handicapped at birth and then went blind after a bout of scarlet fever at age one. While her ultimate disposition is uncertain, researchers hypothesize that she was put up for adoption and ultimately raised by a friend of Mileva's.

Albert wasn't a particularly warm and fuzzy guy, then?

It doesn't seem so, based on a cache of letters and other papers he bequeathed to Hebrew University. He did marry Mileva in 1903, but continued to have extramarital dalliances throughout their time together. While the couple went on to have two sons, their relationship was a tenuous one. Eventually, Albert drew up a "contract" that required Mileva to keep his clothes and study clean, prepare and serve his meals, and renounce all personal relations with him. He openly discussed his various liaisons with other family members and confided that of all the "dames" he frequented, he liked the "decent, discreet, and harmless" ones best.

Was Al strictly business, or did he enjoy a hearty laugh now and again?

Einstein was known to have a downright bawdy sense of humor, and he enjoyed teasing his wife. While entertaining a group of esteemed and intellectual guests, he'd purposely try to shock Mileva by launching into a risqué story. This would prompt her to cut him off with a sharp "Albert!" followed by a coquettish giggle. He also treasured a gag gift given to him by an engraver friend "“ a tin nameplate inscribed Albert Ritter von Steissbein, which roughly translates to "Albert, Knight of the Backside." Einstein proudly affixed the tag to the door of his apartment.

Did he have any hobbies?

Albert Einstein worked in the Swiss Patent Office from 1902 until 1909. He studied for his doctorate degree during those years, and also published several scientific papers in his spare time. One of these demonstrated how radiation converts mass to energy: the Theory of Special Relativity. Einstein's years in the patent office resulted in a lifelong interest in inventions. He enjoyed tinkering with electronics, which led to a few patents of his own, including one for a noiseless refrigerator and another for a transistorized hearing aid.

What was Einstein's involvement with the Manhattan Project?

His only direct participation in developing the atomic bomb was to solve a theoretical problem posed to him by the bomb's developers, who requested his input on their key task of using gaseous diffusion to separate fissionable material. Einstein did write a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, to encourage him to accelerate the development of such a bomb. Albert believed that the Nazis (who were responsible for his hasty emigration to the U.S.) were on the brink of unleashing their own nuclear weaponry.

Did Einstein show any musical aptitude?

Did the man own a comb, for heaven's sake?

Yes, but his mind was so busy with other things that he regularly forgot to use it. Einstein's overall neglect of personal appearance began shortly after the birth of his first son, Hans. The baby would keep the entire household awake by crying throughout the night. Albert couldn't miss a day of work, of course. He had to support a family of not only a wife and son, but also his widowed, aging mother.

On an almost daily basis, as he made his way to work at the Swiss Patent Office, he would see his reflection in store windows and realize "I forgot to comb my hair again." In later life, the über-efficient Einstein's attitude was obvious. "Long hair minimizes the need for barbers."

Was he a snappy dresser?

Not so much. As a child, Einstein noted that his big toe would eventually poke a hole in every sock he wore. "Why bother?" the genius thought. He only "dressed up" when it was absolutely necessary.

Albert's typical head-to-toe attire consisted of an undershirt, baggy pants held up with a rope, and sandals.

His attitude was either people knew and accepted him, or they didn't. Case closed.

What's the deal with that tongue picture?