A Truly Beautiful Mind Notes Chapter 4 Class 9 English

Notes For All Chapters English Beehive Class 9

About the Chapter

• This chapter is a biographical story about Albert Einstein.
• It shows how a simple, curious boy grew up to become a world-famous genius and a kind human being.
• The title “A Truly Beautiful Mind” refers not just to Einstein’s intelligence but also to his humanity and concern for peace.

Early Life

• Born: 14 March 1879, in Ulm, Germany.
• As a child, he was slow to talk; his mother thought he was a “freak” because his head seemed too big.
• When he finally spoke, he said everything twice.
• Other children called him “Brother Boring” because he liked to play alone with mechanical toys.
• When his sister Maja was born, he jokingly asked, “Where are her wheels?”

School Life

• A headmaster once told Einstein’s father that he would never succeed in life.
• At age 6, his mother made him learn the violin, and he became a skilled amateur violinist later in life.
• He studied in a high school in Munich, where his family had moved when he was 15 months old.
• He was a good student but hated regimentation and the strict discipline of school.
• He left school at age 15 because he felt stifled and could not breathe freely.

Further Education

• His parents moved to Milan and allowed him to continue his studies in Switzerland, which was more liberal.
• Einstein was excellent in mathematics and physics.
• He joined the University of Zurich, one of the few universities where women could also get degrees.

Einstein and Mileva Maric

• Einstein met Mileva Maric, a fellow student from Serbia.
• He admired her intelligence and saw her as an ally against the “philistines” (people who disliked art and learning).
• They fell in love and exchanged letters mixing science and affection.
• Einstein wrote that he would be happy when they completed their work on relativity together.

Career and Early Work

• In 1900, he graduated from university but was unemployed.
• He gave private lessons and worked as a teaching assistant before joining the patent office in Bern in 1902.
• He jokingly called his desk drawer the “bureau of theoretical physics” because he used it to work on his own ideas.
• In 1905, he published the Special Theory of Relativity, introducing the famous equation:

             E=mc²

(E = energy, m = mass, c = speed of light)

Personal Life

• Einstein wanted to marry Mileva soon after graduation, but his mother opposed it because Mileva was older and intelligent.
• They finally married in 1903 and had two sons.
• However, their marriage faltered as Mileva became an unhappy housewife.
• They divorced in 1919, and Einstein married his cousin Elsa the same year.

Rise to Fame

• In 1915, Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity, which redefined gravity.
• In 1919, during a solar eclipse, scientists confirmed his predictions, proving his theory right.
• Newspapers called it a “scientific revolution.”
• In 1921, he received the Nobel Prize for Physics.
• He became world-famous and was honoured everywhere.

Einstein and World Politics

• In 1933, when Nazis came to power in Germany, Einstein moved to the United States.
• In 1939, he wrote a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, warning that Germany might build an atomic bomb.
• This letter led America to start its own secret atomic bomb project.
• The bomb was later used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Einstein’s Concern for Peace

• Einstein was deeply saddened by the destruction caused by the atomic bombs.
• He later wrote to the United Nations, asking for the creation of a world government to ensure peace.
• Although his request was ignored, he continued to speak against war and weapons.
• He used his fame to promote peace and democracy.

Death and Legacy

• Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76.
• The world remembers him not only as a scientific genius but also as a humanitarian and visionary -truly a beautiful mind.

Key Themes

• Curiosity and Hard Work: His love for learning made him great.
• Humanity: Despite his fame, he always worked for peace and human welfare.
• Courage and Independence: He followed his own path, even when others criticized him.