The story behind Albert Einstein's iconic, goofy photo

Sasse is till this day best remembered for taking that photo of Einstein .

Scientific communities around the world are marking Einstein's birthday with social media tributes.

He was born in Württemberg in Germany in 1879 and later moved to Italy with his family.

Einstein went on to attend a polytechnic school in Switzerland, to be trained to teach maths and physics. He acquired Swiss citizenship but couldn't find a teaching job. Instead, he became a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office.

In 1905 he earned his doctorate.

The following years saw him occupy several important academic positions. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich and two years later, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague.

In 1914, Einstein was appointed to the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute as director. He also served as a professor at the University of Berlin.

But in 1933, with Nazism gaining hold in Germany, Einstein gave up his citizenship and emigrated to the United States. He became an American citizen in 1940, when the Second World War was raging.

Einstein's most important works include the General Theory of Relativity, The Evolution of Physics and the Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement. He also explored conflict and nationalism with Why War? and About Zionism. 

Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.