Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and influential figures of the modern era. As a preeminent physicist, he radically transformed our understanding of the universe. As an ardent humanist, he took an active and outspoken stance on the significant political and social issues of his time. As a committed Jew, he advocated a distinctive moral role for the Jewish people.

Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. After his family moved to Switzerland, his Swiss citizenship was granted in 1901.

At the end of August 1932 Einstein wrote Mein Glaubensbekenntnis ("My confession of faith"):

"Ich achte stets das Individuum und hege eine unüberwindbare Abneigung gegen Gewalt und gegen Vereinsmeierei. Aus allen diesen Motiven bin ich ein leidenschaftlicher Pazifist und Antimilitarist, lehne jeden Nationalismus ab, auch wenn er sich nur Patriotismus gebärdet".
("I always respect the individual and have an insurmountable antipathy against violence and against the obsession with joining organizations. For all of these reasons, I am a passionate pacifist and anti-militarist and reject every form of nationalism, even when it is disguised as patriotism.")

With the rise of fascism, though, Einstein abandoned his pacifism. In 1939 he sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that urged the United States to proceed to develop an atomic bomb before Germany did. The letter was one of many exchanged between the White House and Einstein, and it contributed to Roosevelt's decision to fund what became the Manhattan Project and led to the development of the atomic bomb by the United States. In 1940 Einstein became a citizen of the United States, but chose to retain his Swiss citizenship as well.

With the onset of the atomic era, Einstein realized that nuclear weapons posed profound risk to humanity and could bring an end to civilization. During the last decade of his life, he was tireless in his efforts to create effective international cooperation to prevent war.

Einstein died on April 18, 1955.