Which scientist developed the theory of relativity and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics?

Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. His special theory of relativity, published in 1905, changed ideas about space, time, and motion. His general theory of relativity, published in 1915, described gravity as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.

Einstein received the Nobel Prize for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, not directly for relativity. His account proposed that light transfers energy in discrete packets, helping establish quantum theory. The award citation specifically recognized his work on theoretical physics and the photoelectric effect.

Born in Ulm in the German Empire in 1879, Einstein later worked in Switzerland and Germany before moving to the United States in 1933. He spent the final decades of his life at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. His equation E = mc² expresses the relationship between mass and energy.