Albert Einstein was the most influential scientist of our time. Despite troubles in education and learning as a child, Einstein surpassed the odds and helped revolutionize science today. With his theories on relativity and gravity, Einstein would inspire other great scientists explain the unexplainable. Einstein also helped in the advancement of modern warfare, by helping Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi in the creation of the atomic bomb. Although born in Germany, Albert Einstein indirectly helped the Allies win World War II and overcome Hitler's rampage for power.
Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. His parents moved from Ulm to Munich when he was an infant because of the family business, manufacturing electrical parts. There were no early indications of Albert's intellectual capabilities, and there was some actual concern on the part of his parents that he was a bit slow. Albert did very mediocre as a child in school because of his dislike of the rigid methods of instruction. He was also considered quite disruptive by school officials. Albert, however, had strong interests in Math and Science, the subjects that he studied on his own. When in High School, Albert dropped out to join his parents in Milan, Italy, where they had moved because of business failure.
In 1896 Einstein was able to enroll in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, after making up a few subject deficiencies. It is here that Einstein met a classmate, Mileva, who would be his future wife. Albert did not like the methods of instruction in the Institute, but he was able to pass his examinations for his degree and graduated in 1900. In the two years following his graduation, Einstein subsisted on odd teaching jobs. In 1901 Mileva was pregnant by Albert, and Albert was held back from getting a job as a teacher because of troubles with his old physics teacher. In 1902, Mileva had a daughter that was given up for adoption before Einstein could even see her.