These candid photographs capture the daily life of Albert Einstein, 1930s-1950s

Albert Einstein is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also contributed significantly to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics together are two pillars of modern physics.

His mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which stems from the theory of relativity, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.

He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and in particular for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", an important step in the development of quantum theory.

As a result of his intellectual achievements and originality, "Einstein" became synonymous with "genius".

In 1905, a year sometimes described as his anus mirabilis ('miracle year'), Einstein published four important papers.

These outline the theory of the photoelectric effect, explain Brownian motion, introduce special relativity, and demonstrate mass-energy equivalence.

Einstein thought that the laws of classical mechanics could no longer be reconciled with those of the electromagnetic field, which led him to develop his own special theory of relativity.

He then extended the theory to gravitational fields; He published a paper on general relativity in 1916, introducing his theory of gravity. In 1917, he applied the general theory of relativity to model the structure of the universe.

He continued to deal with the problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which led him to explain particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light and the quantum theory of radiation, which laid the foundation for the photon theory of light.

However, for the most part of his later career, he eventually worked on two unsuccessful attempts. At first, despite his great contributions to quantum mechanics, he developed it, objecting that nature "doesn't play the dice".

Second, he attempted to formulate a unified field theory by generalizing his geometric theory of gravity to include electromagnetism. As a result, he became increasingly isolated from the mainstream of modern physics.

Einstein was born in the German Empire, but moved to Switzerland in 1895, renouncing his German citizenship (as a subject of the Kingdom of Württemberg) the following year.

In 1897, at the age of 17, he enrolled in the diploma program teaching mathematics and physics at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, graduating in 1900.

In 1901, he acquired Swiss citizenship, which he held for the rest of his life, and in 1903 he secured a permanent position at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern.

In 1905, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Zurich. In 1914, Einstein moved to Berlin to join the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Humboldt University of Berlin.

In 1917, Einstein became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics; He also became a German citizen again, this time from Prussia.

In 1933, when Einstein was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Einstein of Jewish descent objected to the policies of the newly elected Nazi government; He settled in the United States and became an American citizen in 1940.

On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter alerting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a possible German nuclear weapons program and recommended that the US begin similar research. Einstein supported the Allies but generally denounced the idea of ​​nuclear weapons.