Leslie Massey
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and died in the United States in 1955. Although Einstein never lived in today's Austria, he had close ties to the country. In 1911, he was appointed to the German University of Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and became an Austrian citizen. He gave lectures in Austria, including a popular science lecture in Vienna that was attended by 3,000 people. Einstein also had long-standing friendships with Austrian scientists and intellectuals, including Friedrich Adler, the son of the founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party.
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What You'll Learn
Einstein never lived in modern-day Austria
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and moved to Switzerland as a child, where he later gained citizenship. He went on to become a physics and mathematics teacher in Switzerland, and his academic career saw him take up posts in Germany, the US, and what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In 1911, Einstein was appointed to the German University of Prague, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This appointment was contingent on him acquiring Austrian citizenship. While he did take the oath of office in a splendid Austrian civil servant's uniform, the process of naturalization was never finalized before he left for Zurich in 1912. As such, he remained a Swiss citizen and never became a subject of the Austrian Empire.
Einstein did, however, have close relations with Austria. He had long-standing friendships with Austrian scientists and intellectuals, including Friedrich Adler, the son of the founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party. He also gave lectures in Austria, including a popular science lecture in Vienna that was moved to the Konzerthaus, the city's largest auditorium, to accommodate the 3,000-strong audience.
Despite his close ties to the country, Einstein never lived in modern-day Austria.
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Einstein had close ties to Austria
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and lived there until 1880 when his family moved to Italy. He later moved to Switzerland to continue his education and became a Swiss citizen in 1901. In 1911, Einstein was appointed to the German University of Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To take up this post, he was asked to become a citizen of the Habsburg Monarchy, but the process of naturalization was never finalized, and he remained a Swiss citizen.
Einstein's relations with Austria were close, particularly because he had long-standing friendships with Austrian scientists and intellectuals. This dates back to his student years when Friedrich Adler, the son of the founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party, became one of his best friends. Einstein and Adler trained together to become subject teachers for mathematics and physics. Later, Adler renounced a professorship in Zurich in favor of Einstein and returned to Vienna. In 1916, Adler shot the Austrian Prime Minister Karl Graf von Stürgkh in a protest against the government's war policy. Interestingly, it was also Stürghk, in his capacity as a minister of education, who had conducted appointment negotiations with Einstein a few years earlier.
Einstein's visits to Austria were not very frequent, but the lectures he gave there reflect his growing reputation and fame, even beyond scientific circles. In 1909, at the annual conference of natural scientists in Salzburg, Einstein spoke for the first time to a larger audience on the theory of relativity. In the same year, he gave a popular science lecture in Vienna that was moved to the Konzerthaus, the largest auditorium in the city at the time, due to great public interest. Einstein also spoke to a professional audience during these days, at the Chemical-Physical Society of the University of Vienna.
In 1914, Einstein moved back to Germany and became a German citizen. He lived in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to the United States. He became an American citizen in 1940 and lived in Princeton, where he was one of the first members invited to the Institute for Advanced Study, working there for the rest of his life. He died in 1955.
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Einstein's friend Friedrich Adler shot the Austrian Prime Minister
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 to a Jewish family. He moved to Switzerland as a child and later attended school there. Einstein's relationship with Austria was close, particularly due to his long-standing friendships with Austrian scientists and intellectuals. One of his best friends was Friedrich Adler, the son of the founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party. Einstein and Adler trained together to become subject teachers for mathematics and physics. Later, Adler gave up a professorship in Zurich in favour of Einstein and returned to Vienna.
In 1916, Adler shot and killed the Austrian Prime Minister, Karl Graf von Stürgkh, in a protest against the government's war policy. This was a drastic measure in his fight against the war policy of Austria-Hungary. The assassination took place in the dining room of the Viennese hotel Meissl & Schadn, where Adler shot von Stürgkh three times with a pistol. Interestingly, it was also Stürgkh, in his capacity as Minister of Education, who had conducted appointment negotiations with Einstein a few years prior.
Einstein defended his friend Adler in a 1917 letter to another friend, Michele Besso. In the letter, Einstein described Adler's personality, writing that he was a "selfless, calm, hard-working, good-hearted, conscientious man who was highly esteemed by everybody". He also expressed his desire to intercede for Adler, who was on trial for the assassination. Einstein and Adler's friendship was "intertwined" in physics and socialism. Adler was a theoretical physicist who turned into a socialist revolutionary.
Adler was found guilty of the assassination and sentenced to death, but he was never executed. Instead, the government chose to sentence him to 18 years of hard labour to avoid making him a martyr. After the dissolution of the Monarchy, Adler played a significant role as the leader of the Arbeiterräte (workers' councils) and as a member of the National Council of Austria. He remained loyal to the Social Democrats and disclosed revolutionary attempts by the Communist International.
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Einstein lectured in Salzburg in 1909
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and spent his early years in Munich before moving to Italy and then Switzerland, where he received his education in Aarau and Zurich. He did not begin speaking until he was four years old, and his first language was German. In 1896, he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to train as a teacher of physics and mathematics. After graduating in 1901, Einstein acquired Swiss citizenship and began working as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. During this time, he also continued his academic pursuits, and in 1908, he became a Privatdozent at the University of Bern.
In 1909, Einstein gave a lecture at the University of Zurich on relativistic electrodynamics, which was well-received and led to his appointment as an associate professor at the university. In the same year, he also presented his theory of relativity for the first time to a larger audience at the annual conference of natural scientists in Salzburg, Austria. This lecture, held on 21 September 1909, was a significant milestone in the development of theoretical physics. While Einstein's ideas sparked heated discussions among experts, the general public did not pay much attention to the event.
Einstein's lecture in Salzburg was part of the 81st conference of the "Gesellschaft deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte" (Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians). It was his first public presentation of the theory of relativity, and he derived the equation "energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared." This equation demonstrated that radiation must be associated with inertial mass. The young physicist's lecture was met with a mix of recognition and scepticism from his colleagues, including Max Planck.
Einstein's connections to Austria extended beyond this lecture in Salzburg. Although he never lived or worked in what is now Austria, he had close ties to the country due to his long-standing friendships with Austrian scientists and intellectuals. One of his best friends, Friedrich Adler, the son of the founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party, studied with Einstein and later gave up a professorship in Zurich in favour of Einstein. Additionally, Einstein's visits to Austria, though infrequent, contributed to his growing reputation and fame beyond scientific circles.
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Einstein lectured in Vienna
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 and lived in Switzerland from 1896 until 1914, when he moved back to Germany. Although Einstein never lived or worked in today's Austria, he had close ties to the country, especially through his long-standing friendships with Austrian scientists and intellectuals.
In 1911, Einstein was appointed Professor at the German University in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To take up this post, he was asked to become a citizen of the Habsburg Monarchy. However, he only wore the Austrian civil servant's uniform once and sold it at half price when he returned to Zurich in 1912, remaining a Swiss citizen.
Einstein's visits to Austria were infrequent, but his lectures there reflect his growing reputation and fame, even beyond scientific circles. In 1909, at the annual conference of natural scientists in Salzburg, Einstein spoke for the first time to a larger audience on the theory of relativity. His ideas triggered heated discussions among experts, but the general public took little notice of the event.
In Vienna, Einstein's popular science lecture, "Relativitätstheorie leicht fasslich", was moved to the Konzerthaus, the largest auditorium in the city at the time, due to great public interest. There, 3,000 people gathered to see the genius in person, creating an excited and noisy atmosphere. Einstein later remarked that the audience was in a strange mood, more interested in being near a place where miracles happened than in understanding his lecture. The Austrian press extensively covered the event, from the smallest regional papers to the largest.
Einstein also spoke to a professional audience at the Chemical-Physical Society of the University of Vienna. Even there, public attendance was enormous, as evidenced by the society's records, now kept in the archives of the Central Library of Physics.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Einstein never lived or worked in today's Austria. However, he did have close relations with the country and often travelled there.
No, Einstein was a Swiss citizen and never became a subject of the Austrian Empire. However, he was asked to become a citizen of the Habsburg Monarchy when he was appointed professor at the German University in Prague, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Yes, Einstein had many friends in Austria, including Austrian scientists and intellectuals. One of his best friends was Friedrich Adler, the son of the founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party.
Yes, Einstein gave lectures in Austria that reflected his growing reputation and fame, even beyond scientific circles. In 1909, he spoke to a large audience on the theory of relativity at the annual conference of natural scientists in Salzburg. He also gave a popular science lecture in Vienna that was moved to the Konzerthaus due to high demand.
