Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest physicists of all time.

Developed the theory of relativity. His mass-energy equivalence formula, "e=mc²", is regarded as "the world's most famous equation".

In 1939, along with Szilard, Wigner, Teller, and others, Einstein worked to alert the American government of the necessity of developing atomic weapons in anticipation of a future conflict with Germany. They believed that Germany could win the race to the atomic bomb, and that "Hitler would be more than willing to resort to such a weapon."