General Relativity
1915 CE
Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
Historical Context
Newtonian mechanics, 200 years old, failed to explain certain anomalies (like Mercury's orbit). Einstein had already disrupted physics in 1905 with special relativity.
The Event
In 1915, Albert Einstein presented General Relativity to the Prussian Academy. He postulated that gravity is not a force acting at a distance, but the geometric deformation of spacetime by mass.
Key Figures
Albert Einstein (physicist), Marcel Grossmann (mathematician who helped Einstein with Riemannian geometry), Arthur Eddington (astronomer).
Aftermath
The theory was masterfully confirmed in 1919 during a solar eclipse measured by Eddington, propelling Einstein to global superstardom. It explains the universe on a large scale.
Legacy & Culture
It is the bedrock of modern astrophysics (Big Bang, Black Holes, Gravitational Waves). Our modern GPS systems must correct for relative time to function.
Historiography
Science historians study the intellectual race between Einstein and the great mathematician David Hilbert, who found the same equations almost simultaneously in Göttingen.
Sources and References
Annalen der Physik - Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie
Kip Thorne, Trous noirs et distorsions du temps