5 fascinating facts you didn’t know about Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein is known for hair that would stump a stylist and theories that revolutionised our understanding of time and space. There is more to the man than grooming and publications. These five facts reveal the person behind the genius.

The men who built the atomic bomb tried to warn the world. This drawn history shows what happened to them and why the people building AI are saying the same things now.

1. He loved to rock

Physics occupied his mind but music was his passion. Einstein began playing the violin at age six. He preferred Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven. He also liked to improvise. His second wife, Elsa, claimed his playing was the reason she fell in love with him. Music reportedly assisted his theoretical work. Einstein later noted that his violin provided the most joy in his life.

2. He was batty about books

Before his scientific contributions were recognised, Einstein worked as a patent clerk in Bern. During this time he formed a reading group with two friends. They met in his flat to discuss philosophy and literature. They called themselves the Akademie Olympia. The group studied thinkers like Hume, Spinoza and Cervantes. Einstein credited these sessions with having a lasting effect on his scientific career.

3. He was passionate about civil rights

Einstein moved to the USA as the Nazis rose to power in Europe. He became an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Princeton. In 1946 he described racism as the worst disease in America. He corresponded with WEB Du Bois and Paul Robeson and supported anti-hate campaigns run by the Civil Rights Congress.

4. He hated publicity

Einstein was a global celebrity. Passers-by frequently stopped him in the street for scientific explanations. To avoid these encounters he often responded in broken English claiming he was mistaken for Professor Einstein. He would then make a quick exit.