The Little-Known Story Of Mileva Mari, Albert Einsteins First Wife And Tragically Overlooked Partner
ETH LibraryA photograph of Mileva Mari and her husband Albert Einstein in 1912.In 1896, a young Albert Einstein walked into the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich. The 17-year-old student was beginning a four-year program in the schools physics and mathematics department. Of the five scholars admitted to the department that year, only one of them Mileva Mari was a woman.Soon, the two young physics students were inseparable. Mileva Mari and Albert Einstein conducted research and wrote papers together, and soon began falling in love. Im so lucky to have found you, Einstein wrote to Mari in a letter, a creature who is my equal, and who is as strong and independent as I am! I feel alone with everyone else except you.But Einsteins family never approved of Mileva Mari. And when their relationship soured, Einstein turned against his wife, and may have robbed her of crucial credit for her work on his groundbreaking discoveries. Who Was Mileva Mari?Mileva Mari was born in Serbia (then Austria-Hungary) on December 19, 1875. A bright student from her early years, she quickly moved to the top of her class. According to Scientific American, in 1892, Mari became the only woman allowed to attend physics lectures at her Zagreb high school after her father petitioned the Minister of Education for an exemption. According to her classmates, Mari was a quiet but brilliant student. Later, she became just the fifth woman at the Polytechnic Institute to study physics.Bernisches Historisches MuseumA photograph of Mileva Mari from 1896, the year she began studying physics in Zurich and met Albert Einstein.At the end of their degree program in 1900, Mileva Mari posted higher grades than Albert Einstein. While Einstein received a one in applied physics, Mari scored a five, the highest possible grade. But during the oral exams, she fell short. While the male professor gave each of the four men in Maris class an 11 out of 12, she received a five. Einstein graduated. Mari did not. Although he received a degree, Einstein did not have a job. The couple conducted research together, hoping it would lead to a degree for Mari and a job for Einstein. How proud I will be to have a doctor for my spouse, Einstein wrote to Mari. Yet their first article only listed Einsteins name. Einstein told Mari he could only marry her once he had a job. But his family also strongly opposed the relationship.By the time youre 30, shell already be an old hag, Einsteins mother wrote because Mari was nearly four years older than him. The Einsteins did not want a Serbian intellectual with a limp joining their family.Mileva Maris Unplanned PregnancyIn 1901, Albert Einstein and Mileva Mari were working on a stunning research project. According to the Washington Post, Einstein wrote to his partner, How happy and proud I will be when the two of us together will have brought our work on the relative motion to a victorious conclusion!That work which would become Einsteins theory of special relativity would transform him into one of the most famous physicists in history.But an unplanned pregnancy derailed Maris role as Einsteins research partner. And Einstein still refused to marry her until he landed a job. ETH LibraryAlbert Einstein and Mileva Mari with their first son, Hans Albert, circa 1904.Desperate, Mari took her oral exam again. And again, a male professor failed her. She dropped out of school and returned to Serbia to give birth. Her child, Lieserl Einstein, would vanish from historical records. Most likely, Lieserl died or the couple put her up for adoption.Finally, Einstein landed a job in a Swiss patent office in 1902 and agreed to marry Mari the following year. Between 1904 and 1910, Mari gave birth to two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard. She worked at her husbands side on his research. And Einstein published five articles in 1905, his miracle year.Behind the scenes, Mileva Mari calculated figures, argued theories, and wrote lectures for her husband. When he began teaching in Zurich, Mari wrote his lecture notes. When physicist Max Planck reached out to Einstein with a question, Mari wrote back. As her husband grew more famous, Mari confided to a friend, I only hope and wish that fame does not have a harmful effect on his humanity.Life As Albert Einsteins Wife And Overlooked PartnerBy 1912, Einstein had given up on his marriage. He started an affair with Elsa Einstein Lowenthal, his cousin whom he would later marry. Writing to Lowenthal, Einstein called Mileva Mari an unfriendly, humorless creature. He also admitted, I treat my wife as an employee whom I cannot fire. I have my own bedroom and avoid being alone with her.Einstein and Mari discussed a separation. The New York Times reports that, with their marriage on the line, Einstein proposed a compromise in 1914. He would continue the marriage if Mari agreed to his conditions. A. You will see to it (1) that my clothes and linen are kept in order, (2) that I am served three regular meals a day in my room. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me, except when these are required to keep up social appearances.Einstein also demanded, You will expect no affection from me You must leave my bedroom or study at once without protesting when I ask you to.The pair finally divorced in 1919. Mari insisted on a clause in the divorce document stating that if Einstein won a Nobel Prize, she would receive the money. Six years later, Einstein tried to go back on his promise. Mari objected, hinting that she could prove her contributions to his research. Einstein wrote to his ex-wife, When someone is completely insignificant, there is nothing else to say to this person but to remain modest and silent. This is what I advise you to do.The Death of Mileva Mari And Her Legacy TodayMileva Mari struggled to support herself in the decades after her divorce, even though Einstein ultimately followed through on his promise to give her the Nobel Prize winnings, around $500,000 in todays money.In Maris final years, she devoted herself to caring for her son Eduard, who struggled with schizophrenia. After Maris death, Einstein lamented that Eduard was alone in a mental institution.If only I had known, Einstein wrote, he would never have come into this world. When Eduard died, his father had not seen him in over 30 years.Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IsraelMileva Mari and her two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard, circa 1914.Mari made it possible for Einstein to launch his career. But to do so, she had to give up her aspirations of working as a scientist. And once Einstein grew tired of his first wife, he cast her aside.While Mileva Mari never received credit during her life, after her death scholars have pointed to Einsteins first wife as a critical contributor to the scientists legacy.After reading about the life of Mileva Mari, Albert Einsteins first wife, discover 25 facts you might not have known about Albert Einstein. Then learn about other brilliant but overlooked female scientists.The post The Little-Known Story Of Mileva Mari, Albert Einsteins First Wife And Tragically Overlooked Partner appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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