What was his early life like?

What seemed to worry Albert’s parents was that Albert didn’t talk until he was 3. Albert had chosen not to speak, not until he could talk in full sentences.

Albert had a very good sense of humour, but a very bad temper. He hated school because he thought it was too strict. He had religious training at home, because he was Jewish.

His family moved to Italy and Albert dropped out of school soon after. He wanted to attend the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland.

The entrance exam Albert had to take consisted of maths, physics, biology, French and chemistry. Maths and physics was really easy for Albert, but he didn’t care about the other subjects, and he failed the exam.

Albert had to study for another year before making it into the Institute. He started a course to teach maths and physics at the age of 17, in 1896. He eventually became bored by this school as well, so he skipped lectures and talked back to his professors.

Luckily he had two friends who shared their notes with him, and in the end graduated from the Institute. He wanted to teach at the Institute but was refused because he was always being rude to teachers.

Albert was forced to teach wherever he could, whether the job involved maths and physics, or not. He liked teaching, but he wanted to continue studying physics.