Essay Einsteins Wife

Submitted By bigvee21
Words: 1181
Pages: 5

The famous Mileva Marić was most recognized for being the ex wife of the famous Albert Einstein. She was born on December 19, 1875 into a wealthy family in Titel, Serbia. She was the eldest daughter of three children, and her parents were named Marija Ružić, and Miloš Marić. While in grade school she had thirst for knowledge and exceeded in physics and Mathematics. Being she was so well educated she was able to attend an all boys school in Zagreb as a teenager. While first attending school at the University of Zurich, she was studying medicine but decided to change her major after just one semester. Mileva decided to attend the Zurich Polytechnic School(ETH) in which she majored in teaching, mainly in the categories of Physics and Mathematics. Mileva was “nearly 21, and only the fifth woman to be accepted by the ETH(Source 3)”. She was very successful her first two years of college. While attending the University she met a man enrolled in similar courses, named Albert Einstein, who shared the same love for science. She was a bit older than him as he was only 17. Albert was the oldest child who was born into a Jewish couple in Munich, Germany. Albert Einstein went unnoticed to Mileva for a while. It wasn’t until she spent a semester in Heidelberg, Germany that they began to exchange letters and find interest in one another. Einstein begged for her return and when she finally did their friendship evolved into a relationship. Her parents were very accepting of their relationship while his parents were against them due to him being several years younger and them differing in cultural and religious backgrounds. As their relationship evolved, she was failing in the area of studies terribly. In 1900 she had failed her final exams and Einstein graduated and began looking for work. She decided to stay in Zurich and work as a lab assistant and continue to prepare for her exams. Once Again she miserably failed her exams. Around this difficult time in her studies Mileva discovered she was pregnant with Einstein’s child. As a result she decided to stay with her parents. She had high hopes this would tie the two together. Einstein became a substitute teacher 20 miles North of Zurich, which paid very poorly. “He began to make up excuses to avoid seeing her(source 3).” In January 1902, Mileva gave birth to their daughter and named her Lieserl in Novi Sad. There were rumors about whether she was given up for adoption or even came down with Scarlet Fever. No indications of Einstein ever going to meet his child were ever found. “As 1902 drew to a close Mileva turned 27. Mileva’s academic failure illegitimate child would have made her feel like something of a family disgrace(source 3).” Albert, on the other hand was on the brink of his most productive scientific years and at the age of 23 was employed by the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. On January 6, 1903 Mileva and Albert married at Bern City Hall. He was 24 and she 28. It was known that when they proceeded to live together following the marriage their daughter did not join them. Her whereabouts will continue to be a mystery. As their marriage began Albert was working six days a week at the Swiss Patent Office and spending his free time on physics. Mileva was having a terrible time coping with the loss of their daughter and her academic failure, especially after the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marie and Pierre Curie. As the years passed they continue to get better and in 1905 Albert received a raise and she gave birth to their first son Hans Albert. “Albert published his four scientific papers that each marked an important breakthrough. Mileva told a Serbian friend “We finished some important work that will make my husband world famous” (source 3).” During this time he introduced the theory of relativity and formula E=mc2. In 1910 Mileva gave birth to their second son Eduard. Shortly before this Albert quit his job at the Swiss Patent Office to