The advent of special relativity resulted from intense scientific thinking spanning several decades. The history of relativity begins with the strive to understand motion, inertia, and light, which finally led to the Einsteinian revolution in 1905. In this seminar, I attempt to summarize the rich history of the theory of special relativity; the emphasis would be to discuss the contributions of several physicists and mathematicians and the uniqueness of the approach taken by Einstein.
Colloquium Committee