The Incredible Mileva Maric

Atrailblazer in her field, Mileva Marić-Einstein was one of the first female physicists in the world and Albert Einstein's first wife, and there is evidence that she contributed significantly to his research, including his theory of special relativity. Mileva Marić was born in Serbia in 1875 to wealthy parents, and in 1892 had special permission to attend physics lectures – at the time reserved for boys. By 1896 she was admitted to the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich's physics-mathematics section with four other students – all men – including Albert Einstein. The two would become inseparable – spending hours studying together. Writing to Mileva in 1900, Albert wrote “I look forward to resume our new common work. You must now continue with your research –how proud I will be to have a doctor for my spouse when I’ll only be an ordinary man.” By December 1900 they would submit their first article, but only under Albert's name. A 2015 biography suggests that Mileva probably wanted to help Albert make a name for himself, so that he could find a job and marry her. A letter from Albert to Mileva in March 1901 makes it clear that they collaborated on special relativity: “How happy and proud I will be when the two of us together will have brought our work on relative motion to a victorious conclusion." In 1901 Mileva got pregnant and gave birth to a girl – this is only accounted for in letters to Albert. Then in 1903 the two got married, and while Mileva stopped studying, in the evenings they would still work together. But by 1914 things would change dramatically after a long affair between Albert and his first cousin Elsa Löwenthal. In 1919, Mileva agreed to divorce Albert with a clause in their divorce stating that if he ever received the Nobel Prize, she would get the money, which she did.