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Legacy Shaw, I. (2000). The Oxford history of ancient Egypt. Oxford, UK:
Ancient Egypt has been a source of endless fascination Oxford University Press.
Silverman, D. (1997). Ancient Egypt. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
for political leaders, intellectuals, tourists, and others Press.
with antiquarian interests. Its system of government, Time-Life Books (Eds.). (1997). What life was like: On the banks of the
Nile. Alexandria,VA: Time-Life Books.
architectural monuments, artistic norms, burial prac-
tices, religious customs, and language present both
corollaries and stark contrasts to current global conven-
tions. On the one hand, today we generally do not sug-
gest that our heads of state are the embodiment of Einstein, Albert
divine powers. On the other, many continue to assert (1879–1955)
that such officials must maintain physical vitality and a German-American physicist
sterling public image to govern effectively. As in ancient
Egypt, in the modern world architecture continues to be lbert Einstein contributed more than any other scien-
used to reinforce conceptions of national power and Atist to the twentieth-century vision of physical reality
grandeur. Belief in the continuation of life beyond phys- with his special and general theories of relativity, and he
ical death and the development of specific mortuary rit- won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his explana-
uals are other areas in which one sees resonances tion of the photoelectric effect. Recognized in his own life-
between Egyptian lifeways and those embraced by mem- time as one of the most brilliant minds in human history,
bers of various contemporary communities of faith. he advanced a series of theories that proposed entirely
Finally, today’s use of pictograms to convey information new ways of thinking about space, time, and gravitation.
and provide direction in public facilities—particularly His theories profoundly advanced the field of physics and
those frequented by a multilingual population—might revolutionized scientific and philosophical inquiry.
be seen as a reappropriation and adaptation of Egyptian Born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany, Einstein and his fam-
pictographic writing. Thus, it could well be argued that ily moved a year later to Munich to establish a small elec-
while the golden age of ancient Egypt has passed, many trical engineering firm as the family business. Einstein
of its cultural contributions continue to shape twenty- showed little interest or ability in school. Two of his
first-century life. uncles who were involved with the family business, how-
ever, stimulated his interest in mathematics and science.
Hugh R. Page, Jr.
When the business failed in 1894, the family moved to
See also Hatshepsut; Ramses II Milan, Italy, and Einstein soon followed, then resumed
his education in Switzerland. He graduated from the
Zurich Polytechnic school in 1900 as a secondary school
Further Reading teacher of mathematics and physics, also becoming a
Aldred, C. (2000). The Egyptians (3rd ed., A. Dodson, Ed.). London: Swiss citizen.
Thames & Hudson.
Clayton, P. A. (1994). Chronicle of the pharaohs. London: Thames & After a short period, he obtained a job as an examiner
Hudson. at the Swiss patent office in Bern and married his uni-
Kemp, B. (1992). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a civilization. London: versity sweetheart, Mileva Maric, in 1903.They had two
Routledge.
Sasson, J. M. (Ed.). (1995). Civilizations of the ancient Near East. sons, but the marriage ended several years later. He later
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. remarried, in 1919.
Shafer, B. E., Baines, J. R., Silverman, D., & Lesko, L. H. (Eds.). Religion
in ancient Egypt: Gods, myths, and personal practice. Ithaca, NY: Cor- From 1902 to 1909, while working at the patent
nell University Press. office, he completed an astonishing range of publications