business, the Einstein family moved to Italy,

first to Milan and a few months later to Pavia.

When the family moved to Pavia, Einstein, then
15, stayed in Munich to finish his studies at the
Luitpold Gymnasium. His father intended for
him to pursue electrical engineering, but
Einstein clashed with authorities and resented
the school's regimen and teaching method. He
later wrote that the spirit. [20] During his time in
Italy he wrote a short essay with the title "On the
Investigation of the State of the Ether in a
Magnetic Field".[21][22]
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, in the
Einstein always excelled at math and physics
Kingdom of Württemberg in the German
from a young age, reaching a mathematical level
Empire, on 14 March 1879.[5] His parents were
years ahead of his peers. The twelve-year-old
Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer, and
Einstein taught himself algebra and Euclidean
Pauline Koch. In 1880, the family moved to
geometry over a single summer. Einstein also
Munich, where Einstein's father and his uncle
independently discovered his own original proof
Jakob founded Elektrotechnische Fabrik J.
of the Pythagorean theorem at age 12.[23] A
Einstein & Cie, a company that manufactured
family tutor Max Talmud says that after he had
electrical equipment based on direct current.[5]
given the 12-year-old Einstein a geometry
The Einsteins were non-observant Ashkenazi textbook, after a short time "[Einstein] had
Jews, and Albert attended a Catholic elementary worked through the whole book. He thereupon
school in Munich, from the age of 5, for three devoted himself to ".[24] Einstein started teaching
years. At the age of 8, he was transferred to the himself calculus at 12, and as a 14-year-old he
Luitpold Gymnasium (now known as the Albert says he had "mastered integral and differential
E calculus".[25]
In 1894, Hermann and Jakob's company lost a At age 13, Einstein was introduced to Kant's
bid to supply the city of Munich with electrical Critique of Pure Reason, and Kant became his
lighting because they lacked the capital to favorite philosopher, his tutor stating: "At the
convert their equipment from the direct current time he was still a child, only thirteen years old,
(DC) standard to the more efficient alternating yet Kant's works, incomprehensible to ordinary
current (AC) standard.[19] The loss forced the mortals, seemed to be clear to him."[24]
sale of the Munich factory. In search of
In 1895, at the age of 16, Einstein took the
entrance examinations for the Swiss Federal
Polytechnic in Zürich (later the Eidgenössische
Technische Hochschule, ETH). He failed to
reach the required standard in the general part of
the examination,[26] but obtained exceptional
grades in physics and mathematics.[27] On the
advice of the principal of the Polytechnic, he
attended the Argovian cantonal school
(gymnasium) in Aarau, Switzerland, in 1895 and
Albert Einstein in 1904 (age 25)
1896 to complete his secondary schooling.
While lodging with the family of professor Jost An early correspondence between Einstein and
Winteler, he fell in love with Winteler's Marić was discovered and published in 1987
daughter, Marie. Albert's sister Maja later which revealed that the couple had a daughter
[28]
married Winteler's son Paul. In January 1896, named "Lieserl", born in early 1902 in Novi Sad
with his father's approval, Einstein renounced where Marić was staying with her parents. Marić
his in the four-year mathematics and physics returned to Switzerland without the child, whose
teaching diploma program at the Zürich real name and fate are unknown. The contents of
Polytechnic. Marie Winteler, who was a year Einstein's letter in September 1903 suggest that
older, moved to Olsberg, Switzerland, for a the girl was either given up for adoption or died
[28]
teaching post. of scarlet fever in infancy.[38][39]
Einstein's future wife, a 20-year-old Serbian
woman Mileva Marić, also enrolled at the
Polytechnic that year. She was the only woman
among the six students in the mathematics and
physics section of the teaching diploma course.
Over the next few years, Einstein's and Marić's
friendship developed into romance, and they
read books together on ms in Maths and Physics
and was awarded the Federal Polytechnic Einstein with his second wife Elsa in 1921
teaching diploma.[31] There have been claims that
Einstein and Marić married in January 1903. In
Marić collaborated with Einstein on his
May 1904, their son Hans Albert Einstein was
born in Bern, Switzerland. Their son Eduard was
born in Zürich in July 1910. The couple moved
to Berlin in April 1914, but Marić returned to
Zürich with their sons after learning that
Einstein's chief romantic attraction was his first
and second cousin Elsa.[40] They divorced on 14
February 1919, having lived apart for five years.
[41]
Eduard had a breakdown at about age 20 and
was diagnosed with schizophrenia.[42] His mother
cared for him and he was also committed to
asylums for several periods, finally being
committed permanently after her death.[43]

In letters revealed in 2015, Einstein wrote to his

early love Marie Winteler about his marriage
and his strong happy as only a man can be." He
spoke about a "misguided love" and a "missed
life" regarding his love for Marie.[44]

Einstein married Elsa Löwenthal in 1919,[45][46]

after having a relationship with her since 1912.
[47]
She was a first cousin maternally and a