German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein was born on March 14, in 1879 (d. 1955). Einstein is known widely for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics.

Of their Sitting in 1948, Karsh wrote, “At Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, I found Einstein a simple, kindly, almost childlike man, too great for any of the postures of eminence. One did not have to understand his science to feel the power of his mind or the force of his personality. He spoke sadly, yet serenely, as one who had looked into the universe, far past mankind’s small affairs. When I asked him what the world would be like were another atomic bomb to be dropped, he replied wearily, ‘Alas, we will no longer be able to hear the music of Mozart.’”