For the original post from Mrs. Yollis and class...

Biographical Bonanza

Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

I may not have been born in the United States but I thank it for taking me in as one of its own when I needed to escape the persecution by the Nazis in Germany in 1933. Germany had been the place of my birth in 1879 but living as a member of the Jewish faith, although I wasn’t particularly religious, was enough for my ideas to be condemned by the Nazis.

I must admit my early life was less than inspiring. I didn’t start speaking until I had turned two but even then I had a curious mind. When I was four my father gave me a compass. As I saw the needle always point north, I wondered why this would be so. This was perhaps what started my interest in mathematics and science.

Perhaps two of my most remembered works were my Theory of Special Relativity and my equation...

E=mc²   (Energy (E) = mass (m) x (the speed of light) squared

What is relativity? If you think of two cars doing the same speed, in the same direction, along a freeway, passengers in each car would see the others not moving but a person standing on the side of the road would see both pass quickly. Relative to each person in the cars, there is no movement. Relative to the person on the side of the road, there is movement.

Have you noticed when you’re inside your cars on a freeway nothing inside appears to be moving yet the scenery outside the car is speeding by?

My journey in mathematics and science started when I was quite young. Will any of you take up the challenge?

Albert Einstein

(Wikipedia Reference: Albert Einstein )