AlbertEinsteinwasborninUlm,intheKingdomofWürttembergintheGermanEmpireon14March1879.HisfatherwasHermannEinstein,asalesmanandengineer.HismotherwasPaulineEinstein(néeKoch).In1880,thefamilymovedtoMunich,wherehisfatherandhisunclefoundedElektrotechnischeFabrikJ.Einstein&Cie,acompanythatmanufacturedelectricalequipmentbasedondirectcurrent.

　　TheEinsteinswerenon-observantJews.AlbertattendedaCatholicelementaryschoolfromtheageoffiveforthreeyears.Later,attheageofeight,EinsteinwastransferredtotheLuitpoldGymnasiumwherehereceivedadvancedprimaryandsecondaryschooleducationuntilheleftGermanysevenyearslater.AlthoughithasbeenthoughtthatEinsteinhadearlyspeechdifficulties,thisisdisputedbytheAlbertEinsteinArchives,andheexcelledatthefirstschoolthatheattended.Hewasrighthanded;thereappearstobenoevidenceforthewidespreadpopularbeliefthathewaslefthanded.

　　Hisfatheronceshowedhimapocketcompass;Einsteinrealizedthattheremustbesomethingcausingtheneedletomove,despitetheapparent"emptyspace".Ashegrew,Einsteinbuiltmodelsandmechanicaldevicesforfunandbegantoshowatalentformathematics.WhenEinsteinwastenyearsold,MaxTalmud(laterchangedtoMaxTalmey),apoorJewishmedicalstudentfromPoland,wasintroducedtotheEinsteinfamilybyhisbrother,andduringweeklyvisitsoverthenextfiveyears,hegavetheboypopularbooksonscience,mathematicaltextsandphilosophicalwritings.TheseincludedImmanuelKant'sCritiqueofPureReason,andEuclid'sElements(whichEinsteincalledthe"holylittlegeometrybook").

　　In1894,hisfather'scompanyfailed:directcurrent(DC)losttheWarofCurrentstoalternatingcurrent(AC).Insearchofbusiness,theEinsteinfamilymovedtoItaly,firsttoMilanandthen,afewmonthslater,toPavia.WhenthefamilymovedtoPavia,EinsteinstayedinMunichtofinishhisstudiesattheLuitpoldGymnasium.Hisfatherintendedforhimtopursueelectricalengineering,butEinsteinclashedwithauthoritiesandresentedtheschool'sregimenandteachingmethod.Helaterwrotethatthespiritoflearningandcreativethoughtwerelostinstrictrotelearning.AttheendofDecember1894,hetravelledtoItalytojoinhisfamilyinPavia,convincingtheschooltolethimgobyusingadoctor'snote.ItwasduringhistimeinItalythathewroteashortessaywiththetitle"OntheInvestigationoftheStateoftheEtherinaMagneticField."

　　Inlatesummer1895,attheageofsixteen,EinsteinsattheentranceexaminationsfortheSwissFederalPolytechnicinZurich(latertheEidgenössischePolytechnischeSchule).Hefailedtoreachtherequiredstandardinseveralsubjects,butobtainedexceptionalgradesinphysicsandmathematics.OntheadviceofthePrincipalofthePolytechnic,heattendedtheAargauCantonalSchoolinAarau,Switzerland,in1895-96tocompletehissecondaryschooling.WhilelodgingwiththefamilyofProfessorJostWinteler,hefellinlovewithWinteler'sdaughter,Marie.(HissisterMajalatermarriedtheWintelers'son,Paul.)InJanuary1896,withhisfather'sapproval,herenouncedhiscitizenshipintheGermanKingdomofWürttembergtoavoidmilitaryservice.InSeptember1896,hepassedtheSwissMaturawithmostlygoodgrades(includingatopgradeof6inphysicsandmathematicalsubjects,onascaleof1-6),and,thoughonlyseventee