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SUMMARY: Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born American theoretical physicist.

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Albert Einstein was born on March 14,1879 in Ulm, Wuttenberg, Germany. His family was Jewish and his father, Herman Einstein was a salesman and an engineer. His mother, Pauline nee Koch Einstein, was a quiet, well-educated woman who enjoyed the arts. She made Albert begin violin lessons at 5 years old. Albert was the oldest child of Herman and Pauline

The Einstein family moved from Ulm in 1880 to Munich, Germany. Although the family was Jewish, they were not firm in their beliefs. Albert attended a Catholic elementary school. Albert did not talk until he was three years old, but still became a top student in school.

At the age of five, a pocket compass his father showed him fascinated Albert. Early in his youth he built models and mechanical devices for fun. He had a talent for mathematics. At the age of ten, in 1889, Albert was introduced to key texts on science, mathematics and philosophy. Albert began to understand deductive reasoning and by 12 years old, he had learned Euclidean geometry. After Einstein learned geometry he began to explore calculus.

In 1894, Albert was 15 and his father’s business had failed. The family moved to Milan, Italy and then to Pavia, Italy. This is when Albert wrote his first scientific work. “The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic fields.

When the family moved, Albert was left in Munich to finish high school. He dropped out, however and went to join the family. He applied to the ETH Zurich (the Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland) instead of completing high school. The ETH required him to take an entrance exam, which he failed. He did get high scores in mathematics and physics.

Albert’s parents sent him to Aarau, Switzerland to finish high school. He was lodging with Professor Jost Winteler and fell in love with his daughter, Sofia Marie-Jeanne Amanda Winteler, “Marie”. Albert’s sister, Maja married the Professor’s son Paul Winteler. Albert did not marry Marie.

At the age of 17, in 1896, Albert Einstein graduated from high school and revoked his German citizenship to avoid going into the military. Albert was finally able to enroll in the mathematics program at ETH Zurich. On February 21, 1901 Albert gained Swiss citizenship, which he never revoked.

In 1903 Albert married Mileva Maric. They met while at the ETH and she was the only woman in the mathematics program. The two had 3 children, Lieserl, born January 1902, Hans Albert, born May 14, 1904, and Eduard, born July 28, 1908.

Albert graduated from the ETH in 1900, with a degree in physics. After graduation it was hard for Albert to get a job teaching, so after searching for two years he got a job at the patent office in Bern, Switzerland. He was an assistant examiner and was responsible for evaluating applications for electromagnetic devices. Einstein continued to write papers and theories while working at the patent office.

In 1911 Albert became an associate professor at the University of Zurich. Shortly after that he accepted a full professorship at the Charles University in Prague. In 1912, Albert returned to Switzerland for a professorship at his alma mater, the ETH.

Albert’s wife, Mileva, and kids made a permanent home in Zurich in 1914, just before WWI. Albert went alone to Berlin, where he became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. This also allotted him a professorship at the University of Berlin.

Albert and his wife, Mileva had been living apart for two years and divorced February 14,1919. On June 2,1919, Albert married Elsa Lowenthal. She was his first cousin maternally and his second cousin paternally. Together they raised Elsa’s daughters, Margot and Ilse, from her first marriage.

In 1921 Albert Einstein was awarded the Noble Prize in Physics. This was given for his services to Theoretical Physics and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. This same year, on April 2nd Albert traveled to the United States for the first time.

Albert has had many discoveries and inventions, by himself and with others. He was given many awards. Albert’s wife Elsa died in 1936 and Albert died in 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.

SUMMARY: A. A. Milne (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956) British author
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A. A. Milne is the famous author of Winnie the Pooh and other great children’s books. A. A. stands for Alan Alexander, he was born on January 18,1882. He was born in Hampstead, London, England to John V. Milne and Sarah Marie. Alan was their youngest son.

A. A. Milne went to school at the Henley House where his father taught. From there Alan decided to go to Westminster school and then on to Cambridge with a mathematics scholarship. This is where he became editor of the Granta, a student magazine. A. A. started out writing for the magazine with his brother Ken, but his brother left and Alan kept on.

When A. A. Milne had finished his education his father, John gave him a gift of 1000 pounds. Alan used this money to go straight to London and begin his career as a writer. His money ran out and he took a job as a freelance writer for a local newspaper.

Alan Alexander Milne was married to Dorothy De Selincourt in 1913. He joined the Army just two years later in 1915. The two had a son Christopher Robin Milne on August 21, 1920. In 1925 A. A. bought a country home in Hartfield, East Sussex. This is the same home, Cotchford Farm, that A. A. retired to after his stroke and brain surgery in 1952.

A. A. Milne’s stroke and surgery left him an invalid and he died January 31,1956. There was a memorial held for him on February 10th in London. Alan’s son Christopher resented his father and seldom went to see A. A. on his deathbed. The last time Christopher saw his mother Dorothy was at the memorial held for A.A. Milne. Dorothy lived for another 15 years and sold the film right to Walt Disney in 1961. Disney made Winnie the Pooh who we see today.

A. A. Milne joined the British Army in WWI and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiments. He went on to serve in the Royal Corps of Signals.. Alan was released from the Army in 1919. After WWI A. A. Milne wrote Peace with Honour in 1934 and then retracted this writing with his 1940s War with Honour. Then in WWII Alan Milne was captain in the Home Guard in Hartfield and Forest Row

One of A. A. Milne’s first books was Lovers in London, which was a failure and he bought back the copyrights for 5 pounds to prevent it from being re-printed when he was more famous. Alan wrote many plays and novels. He wrote articles, introductions for others books, and poems.

A. A. Milne is best known for his Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. He named the boy character Christopher Robin after his son. His son’s stuffed animals inspired the various animal characters in Winnie-the-Pooh. The name Winnie came from a military mascot used in WWI. It was Canadian black bear named Winnie after Winnipeg. The first Winnie the Pooh books were illustrated by E. H Shepard, who used his own son’s teddy bear as the model.

A. A. Milne’s other famous work is the Toad of Toad Hall. This play was adapted from Kenneth Grahame’s novel, The Wind in the Willows. A special introduction from Milne is written in some editions of Grahame’s novel.

A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh is loved and adored by so many children today and will continue to be loved by many children and parents alike for the rest of time. His play Toad of Toad Hall is still enjoyed at Christmas time by all.