Physicist Albert Einstein is one of the greatest theorists the world of science has seen. His theory of relativity is a very strong pillar of modern physics. Albert Einstein, the theoretical physicist was born on 14th March 1879 in Germany.  He gave the world the equation of E = mc2  a theory of mass-energy equivalence. This theory revolutionized every scientists' thinking from the topics of space, gravity to time and energy, the basis of entire science! So he was undoubtedly a genius and his name has become synonymous with referring to any child with brilliance. Today also happens to be another great day in science, the Pi day.

Today on this genius scientist's 139th birth anniversary, let us look at some interesting facts of his life.

  1. Einstein suffered from speech difficulty: Einstein could not speak until three years. Thus as a child, he spoke very less. He used to practice forming sentences in his head before he spoke them out loud. His parents had a scary thought that he would be retarded, but well he proved them wrong and how!

  2. Einstein failed in University: Einstein primary interests were of course science and math but he was weak in the other social subjects. At age 17, when he applied for early admission into the Swiss Federal Polytechnical School he failed in history, languages, geography, etc.

  3. Had electric equipment business: Einstein in his growing up days operated an electrical equipment business in the city. It was actually his family business called Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie. 

  4. A compass attracted him to science: One would think his family business would drive him into studying electrics, as his father wanted him to pursue. But it was compass given to him by his father at the tender age of 5, which attracted him. The pointing of the compass needle in only one direction at all times created his interest in scientific theories.

  5. Einstein was ladies man: Someone who is digging deep in books would stay away from love and the likes you'd assume, but not Einstein. The scientist was quite a ladies' man. His infidelity was revealed in letters. He cheated on his wife with his secretary!

  6. He was a smoker: Einstein was a very avid smoker, so much so that he even created a smoking pipe with a calming and judgmental effect.

  7. Invention of refrigerator: We know of his relative physics theories but he is also the co-creator of the refrigerator. He collaborated with other scientists to work on such projects. It was also called the Einstein refrigerator which worked on compressed gases.

  8. Einstein's brain was pickled in a jar: A genius that he was, his brain was restored after his death in 1955. The slices of his brain were sent to different scientists throughout the world to study. It was kept in the jar for almost 20 years!

The scientist has indeed contributed a lot to the field and he deserves all the respect. He has been a great inspiration to many who are keenly interested in relative physics. And like he said 'Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.'

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 14, 2018 11:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).