Bernhard Caesar Einstein
Encyclopedia
Bernard Caesar Einstein (July 10, 1930 – September 30, 2008) was a German
-born American physicist
, the son of Hans Albert Einstein. He was the last known surviving biological grandchild of renowned physicist Albert Einstein
.
developed severe schizophrenia
in early adulthood and died at age 55, and had no children. Bernard's brother, Klaus, was born in 1932 and died at age 6 of diphtheria
in Clemson, South Carolina
, United States. Frieda had two more sons that died in early infancy. Eventually Hans Albert and Frieda adopted a girl, Evelyn, shortly after she was born in 1941. One year after Frieda died in 1958, Hans Albert married Elizabeth Roboz, a neurochemist
.
Bernard spent his early years in Switzerland until the age of eight when his family moved to South Carolina. Albert Einstein was very worried about the rise of Nazi Germany and encouraged his son Hans Albert to emigrate to the United States as he himself had done in 1933. Hans Albert heeded this advice, and moved his family to Greenville, South Carolina where he was a civil engineer working with the US Corps of Engineers. Bernard spent his teenage years in Pasadena where his father was a professor at The California Institute of Technology, and in Berkeley, where his father was a professor at the University of California.
Bernard first met his grandfather Albert when he was two years old. As a boy he travelled alone to spend time with Albert in New Jersey, and at Saranac Lake in upstate New York. Bernard recounted to his son Thomas that he used to irritate his grandfather because he would urinate out the window directly above Albert's Study in Princeton. At Saranac Lake he enjoyed sailing with his grandfather. Apparently Albert Einstein's favorite time to sail was when there was very little wind. According to Bernard, his grandfather enjoyed the challenge of harnessing whatever little bit of breeze he could capture. The sailing tradition was carried on by Albert's son, Hans Albert who loved to sail with Bernard, and Bernard's children on the San Francisco Bay. Albert Einstein died in April 1955. Having shared his love of music with his grandson, he bequeathed Bernard his violin in addition to a modest sum of money.
Bernard's children are Thomas, Paul, Eduard, Mira, and Charles.
When he obtained his diploma at ETH Bernard returned to the United States and worked as an engineer for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, ITT in the Los Angeles, California area, and Litton Industries in the San Francisco Bay Area. His area of expertise was electron tube technology, and specifically light amplification devices for night vision. He filed, and obtained 4 U.S. patents related to light amplification technology while he worked for Litton Industries. In 1974 Bernard moved back to Switzerland and worked for a laser technology company, and obtained a US Patent there as well.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born American physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, the son of Hans Albert Einstein. He was the last known surviving biological grandchild of renowned physicist Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
.
Early life and family
Bernard Einstein was the son of Hans Albert Einstein and Frieda Einstein (née Knecht), who had married in 1927 in Switzerland. Bernard Einstein was born on July 10, 1930 in Dortmund, Germany where Hans Albert was involved in a bridge building project. Hans Albert was the only one of Albert Einstein's three children to marry and have children. Hans Albert's sister, Lieserl Einstein, is assumed to have died in infancy, although other theories suggest that she was given up for adoption within the first few weeks of her life and lived to around 58 years old before dying. Hans Albert's younger brother Eduard EinsteinEduard Einstein
Eduard Einstein was born in Zürich, Switzerland, the second son of physicist Albert Einstein and his first wife Mileva Marić. Einstein and his family moved to Berlin in 1914, but shortly thereafter Marić returned to Zürich, taking Eduard and his brother with her.Eduard was a good student and had...
developed severe schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
in early adulthood and died at age 55, and had no children. Bernard's brother, Klaus, was born in 1932 and died at age 6 of diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
in Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson is a college town located in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199...
, United States. Frieda had two more sons that died in early infancy. Eventually Hans Albert and Frieda adopted a girl, Evelyn, shortly after she was born in 1941. One year after Frieda died in 1958, Hans Albert married Elizabeth Roboz, a neurochemist
Neurochemistry
Neurochemistry is the specific study of neurochemicals, which include neurotransmitters and other molecules such as neuro-active drugs that influence neuron function. This principle closely examines the manner in which these neurochemicals influence the network of neural operation...
.
Bernard spent his early years in Switzerland until the age of eight when his family moved to South Carolina. Albert Einstein was very worried about the rise of Nazi Germany and encouraged his son Hans Albert to emigrate to the United States as he himself had done in 1933. Hans Albert heeded this advice, and moved his family to Greenville, South Carolina where he was a civil engineer working with the US Corps of Engineers. Bernard spent his teenage years in Pasadena where his father was a professor at The California Institute of Technology, and in Berkeley, where his father was a professor at the University of California.
Bernard first met his grandfather Albert when he was two years old. As a boy he travelled alone to spend time with Albert in New Jersey, and at Saranac Lake in upstate New York. Bernard recounted to his son Thomas that he used to irritate his grandfather because he would urinate out the window directly above Albert's Study in Princeton. At Saranac Lake he enjoyed sailing with his grandfather. Apparently Albert Einstein's favorite time to sail was when there was very little wind. According to Bernard, his grandfather enjoyed the challenge of harnessing whatever little bit of breeze he could capture. The sailing tradition was carried on by Albert's son, Hans Albert who loved to sail with Bernard, and Bernard's children on the San Francisco Bay. Albert Einstein died in April 1955. Having shared his love of music with his grandson, he bequeathed Bernard his violin in addition to a modest sum of money.
Bernard's children are Thomas, Paul, Eduard, Mira, and Charles.
Education and career
Bernard was not a serious student in High School, or even in his first two years of College at University of California at Berkeley. He excelled only in German language at UC. He enlisted in the US Army in 1954. He finished basic training at Fort Ord, near Monterey California, and was stationed in Southern Germany where he met his first wife Doris Aude Ascher whom he married in 1954. Bernard credited the army for giving him self discipline, and after discharge applied to and was admitted to ETH (Federal Institute of Technology) in Zurich, Switzerland. He followed in both his grandfather's and his father's footsteps to study physics at ETH. He recounted that he was most influenced by Professor Pauli, a colleague of Albert Einstein, whom he had met earlier as a boy in his grandfather's company. Pauli taught him quantum physics, a subject Bernard would return to later in life.When he obtained his diploma at ETH Bernard returned to the United States and worked as an engineer for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, ITT in the Los Angeles, California area, and Litton Industries in the San Francisco Bay Area. His area of expertise was electron tube technology, and specifically light amplification devices for night vision. He filed, and obtained 4 U.S. patents related to light amplification technology while he worked for Litton Industries. In 1974 Bernard moved back to Switzerland and worked for a laser technology company, and obtained a US Patent there as well.
External links
- Terry Kirby. Grandson tells of life with Einstein. The Independent, 8 November 2005.
- Michele Zackheim. Einstein — Children of a Lesser God: For The Offspring Of A Science Deity, The Legacy Is More Burden Than Blessing. Discover magazine, March 2008, published online February 12, 2008 at discovermagazine.com. Retrieved 2009-07-16
- Biography - Thomas Einstein, M.D., Anesthesiologist. www.ezinearticles.com website, retrieved 2009-07-16. (blocked website)