Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist who is widely regarded as the greatest scientist of the 20th century. He proposed the theory of relativity and also made major contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and cosmology. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and "for his services to Theoretical Physics." After his general theory of relativity was formulated, Einstein became world-famous, an unusual achievement for a scientist. In his later years, his fame exceeded that of any other scientist in history, and in popular culture, Einstein has become a byword for great intelligence or even genius. His is also one of the world's most recognizable faces.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1689: The Convention Parliament was convened to determine if James II, the last Catholic king in England, had vacated the throne when he fled to France in 1688. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England)

1818: Led by General Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile formally proclaimed its independence from Spain. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile)

1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations, was founded. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP)

1912: Xuantong Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the last Emperor of China, abdicated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuantong_Emperor)

2001: NEAR Shoemaker became the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid, the Eros. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEAR_Shoemaker)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less." -- Arthur Miller (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller)