Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Einstein, Albert

EINSTEIN, ALBERT, a Swiss physicist, born in 1875. For a time he held a chair in the Zürich Polytechnic School, and was also for some years a professor in the University of Prague. Later he held a research position in an institution affiliated with the University of Berlin. In 1914 he protested against the manifesto of the German professors. Einstein came into prominence through his theory of relativity, which grew out of his participation in the effort to explain the Michelson-Morley experiment, on the so-called ether-drift of the earth and its negative result. The principle of the theory is the conception of time as a fourth dimension. His theory of relativity was published in 1905 in a book, “Annalen der Physik.” It was further expounded in 1916. This principle of relativity and the deflection of light by gravitation was considered by scientists the most revolutionary discovery in physical science since Newton. In April, 1921, Dr. Einstein visited the United States in behalf of the Zionist movement.