{"id":96878,"date":"2017-03-14T15:15:56","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T22:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/?p=96878"},"modified":"2023-03-14T16:42:02","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T23:42:02","slug":"5-things-you-didnt-know-about-albert-einstein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-albert-einstein-96878.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Things You Didn&#8217;t Know About Albert Einstein"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today we celebrate the birthday of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Albert-Einstein-Nobel-Prize-in-Physics-1921\/4481345450320047133\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Albert Einstein<\/a>, one of the most brilliant minds in history.<\/p>\n<p>Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, in the Kingdom of W\u00fcttemberg in what was then the German Empire.\u00a0Considered one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, Einstein&#8217;s scientific breakthroughs dramatically changed our understanding of the\u00a0universe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Einstein_Head.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-96894\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Einstein_Head.jpg\" alt=\"5 Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Albert Einstein\" width=\"315\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Einstein_Head.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Einstein_Head-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 315px) 100vw, 315px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 10px;\"><em>Albert Einstein \/ Library of Congress<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In honor of his birthday, here are some interesting facts about Albert Einstein that you may not have known:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. He loved music.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_violin.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-96893\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_violin.jpg\" alt=\"5 Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Albert Einstein\" width=\"327\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_violin.jpg 467w, https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_violin-233x300.jpg 233w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 327px) 100vw, 327px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 10px;\"><em>Albert Einstein, 1930 \/\u00a0Kalamazoo Public Library, Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n<p>His mother was an accomplished pianist and taught Einstein to play at a young age.\u00a0He learned to play the violin at the age of 5 and by 13, he discovered a love for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Wolfgang-Mozart\/6000000002454309450\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mozart&#8217;s<\/a> violin sonatas. He gave his violin the nickname &#8220;Lina.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He once said, &#8220;If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. His first daughter is a mystery.<\/strong><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"> iframe{ border: 1px solid #999; } <\/style>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/family-tree\/index\/profile-94800378?minimal=1\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>No one knows exactly what happened to Einstein&#8217;s first daughter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Lieserl-Einstein\/6000000009494798757\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lieserl<\/a>, who was born out of wedlock. In fact, historians were unaware of her existence\u00a0until the 1980s when she was mentioned in some newly discovered letters between Einstein and his first wife,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Mileva-Einstein\/6000000009517887680\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mileva Mari\u0107<\/a>. The couple first met while students at Z\u00fcrich&#8217;s Polytechnic. She was the only woman among the six students in mathematics and physics. Lieserl was born in 1902, a year before their marriage. From\u00a0their letters, it&#8217;s possible Liessrl either died of scarlet fever or was put up for adoption in 1903. They would later have two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. His second wife was also his first cousin.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_elsa.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-96892\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_elsa-600x518.jpg\" alt=\"5 Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Albert Einstein\" width=\"420\" height=\"363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_elsa-600x518.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_elsa-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_elsa.jpg 693w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 10px;\"><em>Albert and Elsa Einstein \/ Library of Congress<\/em><\/p>\n<p>After divorcing Mari\u0107 in 1919, Einstein married <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Elsa-Einstein-L%C3%B6wenthal\/6000000009518134765\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elsa L\u00f6wenthal (Einstein)<\/a>, who was also his first cousin. Her mother, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Fanny-Koch\/6000000010131946539\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fanny Koch<\/a>, was a\u00a0sister of\u00a0his mother, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Pauline-Einstein-Koch\/6000000001396862130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pauline<\/a>. And that wasn&#8217;t their only family connection. Elsa&#8217;s paternal grandfather, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Raphael-Einstein\/6000000010132645763\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Raphael Einstein<\/a>, was the brother of Albert&#8217;s paternal grandfather, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/people\/Abraham-Einstein\/6000000008316855625\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Abraham Rupert Einstein<\/a>, also making them second cousins through their fathers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. He renounced his German citizenship twice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the age of 17, Einstein renounced his citizenship in the German Kingdom of W\u00fcttemberg to avoid military service. He obtained Swiss citizenship in February 1901. After World War I, he returned to Germany and regained his German citizenship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_uscitizen.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-96891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_uscitizen-600x743.jpg\" alt=\"5 Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Albert Einstein\" width=\"339\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_uscitizen-600x743.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_uscitizen-242x300.jpg 242w, https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/einstein_uscitizen.jpg 775w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 10px;\"><i>Einstein&#8217;s declaration of intention \/\u00a0NARA<\/i><\/p>\n<p>In 1933, Einstein left Germany for the last time. Taking a stand against the\u00a0rising Nazi party, Einstein renounced his German citizenship and left the country with\u00a0his family for the United States. In 1940, he became an American citizen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. His Nobel Prize money went to his ex-wife.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although Einstein is perhaps best remembered for his theory of relativity, he did not receive the Nobel Prize for it. In 1921, Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics for &#8220;his services to theoretical physics, and especially\u00a0his discovery\u00a0of the law of the photoelectric effect.&#8221; However, he did not get to keep the prize money.\u00a0As part of the\u00a0divorce agreement with his first wife, Einstein, confident that he would win a Nobel Prize one day, offered had Mari\u0107 his Nobel Prize money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we celebrate the birthday of Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds in history. Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, in the Kingdom of W\u00fcttemberg in what was then the German Empire.\u00a0Considered one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, Einstein&#8217;s scientific breakthroughs dramatically changed our understanding of the\u00a0universe. Albert Einstein \/ Library of Congress In honor of his birthday, here are some interesting facts about Albert&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-albert-einstein-96878.html\"><span>Read the full story<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":96895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3751],"tags":[4962],"class_list":["post-96878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fun-with-genealogy","tag-albert-einstein"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96878"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110130,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96878\/revisions\/110130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}