“He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”

German-born theoretical physicist

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist known for developing the theory of relativity. He also made major contributions to quantum theory and was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on theoretical physics, especially his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Einstein is closely associated with mass-energy equivalence, expressed in the formula E = mc2, which comes from special relativity and has been called the world’s most famous equation. His work reshaped modern physics and continues to define how his name is remembered.