Does Einstein’s First Wife Deserve Some Credit for His Work? That’s the Wrong Question to Ask

Who was the real Mileva Einstein-Maric, the wife of the famed physicist Albert Einstein? Trained alongside Einstein in physics and mathematics, what role did she play, if any, in the famous papers of her husband, which transformed contemporary physics? Was she an unsung contributor or even a co-author, a sounding board, the top fiddle, a glorified assistant, an unglorified housewife, the one who made it all possible?

What does it even matter? It matters, of course, because Einstein’s work and his theories of relativity, quantum theory, and atomic theory formed the...

Who was the real Mileva Einstein-Maric, the wife of the famed physicist Albert Einstein? Trained alongside Einstein in physics and mathematics, what role did she play, if any, in the famous papers of her husband, which transformed contemporary physics? Was she an unsung contributor or even a co-author, a sounding board, the top fiddle, a glorified assistant, an unglorified housewife, the one who made it all possible? What does it even matter? It matters, of course, because Einstein’s work and his theories of relativity, quantum theory, and atomic theory formed the...