A famous scientist once said, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent, but it takes the touch of a genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” This famous scientist happens to be a man, from Württemberg, Germany, by the name of Albert Einstein. Einstein was a pure genius and this led him to creation of calculus and theories based off the space surrounding him. Einstein was a significant person in his era and some of his work still has an effect on the world today. Einstein’s life represents an underdog story, where a man that started off with so little became a success story through confidence and hard work.

To begin, Einstein became something out of nothing. Einstein was born on March 14th, 1879. “ Einstein and his family moved to Munich, Germany in 1880, when his father’s electric plant performed poorly”(Gale student resources). “For the first three years of Einstein’s life, he was not able to talk”(Gale student resources). He began to start talking soon after, but he had so much trouble that his parents thought he was intellectual impaired. When Einstein turned five, he went to a Catholic elementary school to start his basic education. There he learned about a compass, which sparked his interest in physics. The fact that a needle would always point northward due to an unseen force encouraged his intellectual curiosity. Einstein’s family later moved to Italy. Einstein then decided to continue his education in Aarau, Switzerland. In 1896, Einstein enrolled in the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich. It was here that Einstein began his studies in mathematics and physics. In 1901, Einstein received his bachelor’s degree but was unable to put it to use because he could not find a job. Einstein ended up accepting a job as a technical assistant at a Swiss Patent Office. These early steps in Einstein’s life are a good example of how he started at a disadvantage.

Next, Einstein became very successful and had many achievements over his life. Since Einstein worked at a Swiss Patent Office, he had lots of free time. He used this free time to get his doctorate degree and become a professor of Theoretical Physics in Prague. This career led him to begin studying the Theory of Relativity, Newtonian Mechanics, Total Eclipse, Quantum Mechanics, Photoelectric Effects, and the Brownian Movement. While studying Newtonian mechanics, “Einstein asserted the equivalence of mass and energy”(Albert Einstein Achievements). This study led to Einstein’s most famous equation, E=mc2. Many other scientists despised Einstein for his finding because of how Einstein thought. Instead of using mathematics to prove his ideas, Einstein used logic and reasoning to explain his theories. Due to Einstein’s way of thinking, “Only three people in the world understood his theories”(Gale student resources). Einstein also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his theories. Einstein had many achievements over his life even though he did not have the best start.

Lastly, Einstein helped change the world for better and worse. A positive invention that Einstein created was the refrigerator. The refrigerator allows people to store food for longer due to spoilage. Another positive invention is the television. The television allows for news to be spread quicker and entertainment to be more available. An invention that can be looked at negatively or positively is the atomic bomb. This invention was surprising due to the fact that Einstein said, “I refuse to do war service, direct or indirect regardless of how the war is judged”(Atomic bomb). This statement led Einstein to think a lot because “Einstein looked beyond the current war to future problems”(atomic bomb). Einstein finally decided to write a letter to President Roosevelt for the authority to create the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb was used as a military device and dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The effects of the bomb caused long and short term problems. The bomb killed many people on the action of the explosion and killed many others through radiation diseases, such as leukemia, many years later. Einstein was able to help society by defying his ethics and doing what he felt was right through his many inventions.

In conclusion, Einstein was able to become very successful even when he began with nothing. Einstein started in a rough situation but continued his education in order to get on the right track. Einstein forced himself to do things for the better of society. The lesson learned is that it is not how you begin, it is how you finish.