Orion

Orion

  • Submitted By: oriontorres
  • Date Submitted: 12/07/2008 7:15 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 3491
  • Page: 14
  • Views: 687

I. Title: The Autobiography of Albert Einstein

II. Author(s): Hoffmann, Banesh; Isaacson, Walter Parker, Steve; Prindle, Joseph; Ralston, Jesse; Strathern, Paul

III. Setting:
A. Time- Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was the first child born to Hermann and Pauline, a Jewish couple married three years earlier. Hermann began work as a merchant in the featherbed industry, but when his business collapsed, he moved his family to Munich to start an electrical-engineering business with his brother Jakob. Munich is where many things began.
In 1881, Hermann and Pauline had a second child, Maria. Called Maja by all who knew her, she was Albert's closest childhood friend. A few years later, when Einstein was four or five, he had his first scientific experience, his father showed him a pocket compass and the young boy marveled at the fact that regardless of where the compass was turned, the needle always pointed north. Einstein then demonstrated an interest in science and problem solving even before he entered school. Einstein's formal education began at age six, when he enrolled in a Catholic elementary school in Munich. Since his parents were not practicing Jews, they cared more about the school's academic standards than its religious affiliation. Einstein did well in school, but he was a quiet child and kept his distance from his peers. He was uncomfortable with the principle of absolute obedience and the military drills that dominated the school's atmosphere. The young Einstein preferred to build houses of cards and play with his sister at home.
At the age of ten, Einstein was accepted into the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich, a formal and respected institution that emphasized Latin and Greek over mathematics and science. Unhappy with the educational program at school, Einstein turned to a course of personal study outside of school. His Uncle Jakob lent him a book of algebra and sent him math puzzles...

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