Faces of Money: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Paper money shown: Albert Einstein, 5 Lirot, 1968, Israel
Thanks to his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein, 1879-1955,
became the most famous scientist of the 20th century.
In 1905, while working in a Swiss patent office, he published a paper
proposing a "special theory of relativity," a groundbreaking notion
which laid the foundation for much of modern physics theory. (The theory
included his famous equation e=mc².) Einstein's work had a profound
impact on everything from quantum theory to nuclear power and the atom
bomb.
He continued to develop and refine his early ideas, and in 1915
published his general theory of relativity.
By 1920 Einstein was internationally renowned; he won the Nobel Prize
in 1921, not for relativity but for his 1905 work on the photoelectric
effect.
In 1933 Einstein moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked at
the Institute for Advanced Studies until the end of his life.
Einstein's genius is often compared with that of Sir Isaac Newton; in
2000 Time magazine named him the leading figure of the 20th
century.
Einstein has become a symbol of science and genius recognizable
to people everywhere in the world.
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