QUICK FACTS

NAME: Albert Einstein OCCUPATION: Physicist BIRTH DATE: March 14, 1879 DEATH DATE: April 18, 1955 DID YOU KNOW?: Einstein was asked to be the president of Israel, but he declined: After Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, died in 1952, the country's prime minister offered the job to Einstein. DID YOU KNOW?: Einstein died after refusing surgery, saying, "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly." EDUCATION: Luitpold Gymnasium, Eidgenssische Polytechnische Schule (Swiss Federal Polytechnic School) PLACE OF BIRTH: Ulm, Wrttemberg, Germany PLACE OF DEATH: Princeton, New Jersey

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. Born: March 14, 1879, Ulm, Germany Died: April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States Children: Eduard Einstein, Hans Albert Einstein, Lieserl Einstein Spouse: Elsa Einstein (m. 19191936), Mileva Mari (m. 19031919) Education: University of Zurich (1905), ETH Zurich (1901), Aargau Cantonal School (18951896), Luitpold Gymnasium Awards: Nobel Prize in Physics, Copley Medal, Franklin Medal,

Fact #1: Einstein wasn't a beautiful baby. When Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, the back of his head was reportedly so huge that his family worried something was wrong with him. But within the first few weeks, the shape of his head became more normal-looking. Fact #2: Einstein was slow to talk. Some say he didn't start speaking until age four. Stanford economist Dr. Thomas Sowell even coined the controversial term "Einstein Syndrome" to describe exceptionally bright people whose speech is delayed. Fact #3: Einstein did NOT flunk math. It's long been rumored that Einstein was a bad student -- and these rumors have been fueled in part by headlines like one in a "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" newspaper: "Greatest living mathematician failed in mathematics." In fact, Einstein was not a poor student. He was conversant in college physics before he was 11 years old, was a ''brilliant'' violin player, and received high marks in Latin and Greek. Before age 15 he had already mastered calculus.

Fact #4: Einstein had an illegitimate child. Before Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Mari, married, she secretly gave birth to their daughter at her parents' home in Serbia, Time magazine reported. But the fate of the baby, who was named Lieserl, is unclear. She essentially disappeared from historical records shortly after birth. There is no evidence that Einstein ever saw his daughter. Fact #5: Einstein set weird rules for his wife. Einstein demanded a lot from Mileva. In fact, he gave her a set of rules to follow. Included on the list was that she had to serve three meals day, to stop talking if he asked her to, and to expect no intimacy from him. Fact #6: Einstein got along really well with his cousin. So well, in fact, that she -- Elsa Einstein -- became his wife in 1919. The two reportedly were romantically involved during Einstein's first marriage, according to Bio.com. Fact #7: Einstein was popular with the ladies. In letters that he wrote to Elsa, Einstein readily acknowledged many extramarital affairs. He wrote that his girlfriends showered him with "unwanted" affection, The Telegraph reported.

Fact #8: Wearing socks wasn't Einstein's thing. In another letter to Elsa, Einstein wrote that he "got away without wearing socks" at the University of Oxford. The world-renowned genius eventually became known for his unkempt appearance -- though more attention was focused on his hair than on his feet. Fact #9: Einstein was a member of the NAACP. Specifically, the chapter in Princeton, N.J., where he lived and worked. But even before Einstein moved permanently to America in 1933, he corresponded with civil rights activist and scholar W.E.B. Dubois, a founder of the NAACP. And during a 1946 speech at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Einstein called racism a disease," the Harvard Gazette reported. Fact #10: Einstein may have hastened his death. Einstein died on April 18, 1955 after suffering a burst blood vessel. According to the website of the American Museum of Natural History, doctors suggested surgery, but Einstein declined, saying, "It is tasteless to prolong life artificially."

Fact #11: Einstein Brain. When Einstein died in 1955, his body was cremated and his ashes scattered, as was his wish. However, before his body was cremated, pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital conducted an autopsy in which he removed Einstein's brain. Autopsy shows that Einstein only used 5% to 7% of his brain. Rather than putting the brain back in the body, Harvey decided to keep it, ostensibly for study. Harvey did not have permission to keep Einstein's brain, but days later, he convinced Einstein's son that it would help science. Shortly thereafter, Harvey was fired from his position at Princeton because he refused to give up Einstein's brain. For the next four decades, Harvey kept Einstein's chopped-up brain (Harvey had it cut into over 200 pieces) in two mason jars with him as he moved around the country. Every once in a while, Harvey would slice off a piece and send it to a researcher. Finally, in 1998, Harvey returned Einstein's brain to the pathologist at Princeton Hospital.