Slow to learn how to speak, Albert Einstein tended to be an inward thinking child, one who was fascinated by geometry and algebra. By the time he graduated from a Swiss university in 1905, Einstein was forced to take a job in the patent office there, while he pursued a private interest in the realm of physics. That same year, four of his papers set the scientific world on its ears, including one on the photon theory of light which would earn him the 1921 Nobel Prize.
Although he returned to his native Germany, Einstein's growing public presence became an irritant to the rising Nazi regime. His name was forbidden to be mentioned, although his scientific works were still used in teaching. As he toured Europe in promotion of his pacifist beliefs and unity, Einstein became synonymous with betrayal of the Nazi agenda. His property was seized, his books burned, and he was forced to flee to the U.S. where he became a citizen in 1940.
In America, he was free to continue his campaign for peace and equality. Ironically, it was that very freedom of speech, expressed in a series of correspondence with president Franklin D. Roosevelt, which triggered the arms race through the Manhattan Project.
Even then, Einstein was recognized and appreciated for his global perspective on the future of Man. So much so, that when the first president of Israel died in 1952, a campaign was started that ended with the government offering Einstein the post. He declined, citing his appreciation of the honor, but also that he was not suited to the position.
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