Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, but he grew up and obtained his early education in Munich, Germany. He was a poor student, and some of his teachers thought he might be retarded (mentally handicapped); he was unable to speak fluently with ease and grace) at

age nine.

He began playing the violin at age six and would continue to play throughout his life. At age twelve he discovered geometry (the study of points, lines, and surfaces) and was taken by its clear and certain proofs. Einstein mastered calculus (a form of higher mathematics used to solve problems in

physics and engineering) by age sixteen.

Albert attended a Catholic elementary school in Munich from the age of 5 for three years. At the age of 8, he was transferred to the Luitpold Gymnasium (now known as the Albert Einstein Gymnasium),where he received advanced primary and secondary school education until he left the German Empire seven years later.

Einstein tried to enter the Federal Institute of Technology (FIT) in Zurich, Switzerland, but his knowledge of subjects other than mathematics was not up to par, and he failed the entrance examination. On the advice of the principal, he first obtained his diploma at the Cantonal School in

Aarau, Switzerland, and in 1896 he was automatically admitted into the FIT. There he came to realize that he was more interested in and better suited for physics than mathematics.Einstein passed his examination to graduate from the FIT in 1900, but due to the opposition of one of his professors he was unable to go on to obtain the usual university assistantship.

WORKING CAREER

After graduating in 1900. Einstein spent almost two frustrating years searching for a teaching post.

He acquired Swiss citizenship in February 1901, but was not conscripted for medical reasons. With

the help of Marcel Grossmann's father, Einstein secured a job in Bern at the Federal Office for Intellectual Property, the patent office, as an assistant examiner - level II.

He evaluated patent applications for a variety of devices including a gravel sorter and an electromechanical typewriter. In 1903, Einstein's position at the Swiss Patent Office became

permanent, although he was passed over for promotion until he "fully mastered machine

technology"In 1900, Einstein's paper "Folgerungen aus den Capillaritätserscheinungen" ("Conclusions from the

Capillarity Phenomena") was published in the prestigious Annalen der Physik. On 30 April 1905.