Einstein’s Wife: The Real Story of Mileva Einstein-Maric

The real-life story behind The Other Einstein-a fascinating profile of mathematician MilevaEinstein-Maric and her alleged contributions to her husband’s scientific discoveries

Albert Einstein’s first wife,MilevaEinstein-Maric, was forgotten for decades. When a trove of correspondence between them beginning intheir student days was discovered in 1986, her story began to be told. Some of the tellers of the MilevaStory made startling claims- that she was a brilliant mathematician who surpassed her husband, and that she madeuncreditedcontributions to his most celebrated papers in 1905, including his paper on special relativity. This book, based on extensive historical research, uncovers the real MilevaStory.

Milevawas one of the few women of her era to pursue higher education in science; she and Einstein were students together at the Zurich Polytechnic. Mileva’s ambitions for a science career, however, suffered a series of setbacks-failed diploma examinations, a disagreement with her doctoral dissertation adviser, an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by Einstein. She and Einstein married in 1903 and had two sons, but the marriage failed.

So wasMilevaher husband'suncreditedcoauthor, unpaid assistant, or his essentialhelpmeet? It’s tempting to believe that she was her husband’s secret collaborator, but the authors of Einstein’s Wife look at the actual evidence, and a chapter by RuthLewinSimeoffers important historical context. The story they tell is that of a brave and determined young woman who struggled against a variety of obstacles at a time when science was not very welcoming to women.