FactSentinel

Albert Einstein was working as a technical examiner at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern when he published his landmark papers in 1905. He took the position in June 1902 with the title of Technical Expert, Third Class, after struggling to find an academic job following his graduation from the Polytechnic in Zurich. He remained at the patent office until 1909, when he accepted his first academic appointment at the University of Zurich. The 1905 papers, often called his "miracle year" publications, appeared in the journal Annalen der Physik while he held this job.

The key evidence comes from employment records, Einstein's own correspondence, and biographical accounts by historians of science. His papers covered the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of mass and energy. He wrote them in his spare time, and he did not hold a university post or laboratory position. His doctoral dissertation, submitted to the University of Zurich in 1905, was also completed while he was employed in Bern.

Some nuances are worth clarifying. Einstein was a German-born citizen who renounced his German citizenship in 1896 and became a Swiss citizen in 1901, so describing him as a Swiss patent clerk is accurate in terms of both nationality and employer. The word "clerk" is informal, since his official role was technical expert, which involved evaluating patent applications for electromagnetic devices. It is also a misconception that he was isolated from science. He discussed ideas with friends and colleagues, and he read widely in physics.