Two women in Albert Einstein's life

From close friends and common enthusiasts, Mileva Maric married and became the first wife of the famous physicist Albert Einstein. Cousin Elsa Lowenthal became his second mate, acting as a trusted partner and companion.

Mileva Einstein-Maric was born in 1875 in Titel town, Serbia, came from a wealthy family. As a teenager, because of her good academic performance, she was allowed to attend a school with only male students in Zagreb. Maric is described as an outstanding student in math and physics. In 1896, Maric began to study at the University of Zurich, Switzerland for a short time and then transferred to Zurich Polytechnic University (formerly the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology or today's ETH). Among Maric's college friends is Albert Einstein.

During college, Maric had a semester in Heidelberg, Germany. This was about the same time Maric began exchanging letters with Einstein, who had given her the nickname " Dollie" and urged her to return soon. Friendship just stepped into a new stage, after Maric returned to Switzerland.

While the Maric family supported their relationship, Einstein's parents firmly protested. They did not support Maric's 4-year-old Einstein, and were religious and from a different culture.

Mileva Maric and Albert Einstein.(Photos: Wikipedia)

Einstein and Maric's love continued to flourish the following days. However, this is the time when Maric faced many difficulties in learning and research. In 1900, when Einstein graduated and started looking for a job, Maric failed the final exam, forced to work for a laboratory and prepare to retake the exam. But again, her efforts failed. During this time, she found herself pregnant with her child with Einstein.

In early 1902, Maric gave birth to her first daughter at her parents' home in Serbia. However, her daughter Lieserl does not have a clear identity. Basically, records related to Lieserl disappear after birth. Many stories recount that Lieserl was adopted in another family. The last time the news about Lieserl was mentioned was in 1903, when the information in a letter said that she had scarlet fever.

Marriage

Einstein and Maric reunited in 1903. They married in the city of Bern, Switzerland. A year later, they welcomed his son Hans Albert. Their third child was born in 1910, named Eduard.

Einstein became professor at ETH in 1912. During this time, Einstein began a relationship with his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal. In 1914, Einstein arrived in Berlin. Maric and her two children followed her husband here, but soon returned to Switzerland. Einstein asked for a divorce in 1916, the divorce decision officially took effect three years later. Under the agreement, Maric received the prize money for the Nobel Prize when Einstein received the award in 1921.

Maric's life after his divorce from Einstein met many difficulties. She looks after an inn and teaches to make a living. Everything seemed to collapse in front of his eyes when Eduard's son suffered a nervous breakdown in 1930. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, Eduard had to live in charitable institutions, and his brother Hans Albert moved in. America and his family in 1938. Mileva Einstein-Maric died 10 years later.

Cousin - second wife

Elsa Lowenthal is Einstein's distant cousin, born on January 18, 1876 in Ulm, Germany. The affection between the two became more distraught and closer from around 1912, although Einstein was now married to Maric. Before that, Elsa was married and divorced. She has two daughters, Ilse and Margo.

Elsa Lowenthal with Albert Einstein.(Photos: Wikipedia)

Elsa is considered the assistant, reliable companion beside Einstein. In 1917, the illness of a famous physicist showed signs of worsening, Elsa was next to her and took care of him to be healthy again. The couple married on June 2, 1919.

When Einstein's name became more and more well known in the scientific world, Elsa was the one next to him on many trips to all over the world. They went to America in 1921, the same year he received the Nobel Prize in Physics. Elsa played a supporting role in Einstein's research career, helping to manage daily work until 1928. Even after he had a new secretary, Elsa continued to be her tireless companion.

After the Nazi party came to power, things began to become difficult for Einstein. He spoke out against the Nazi party because of his anti-Jewish policy. In 1933, when he traveled with Elsa to other countries, Einstein discovered that their home was ransacked, the property was later seized. Realizing that he could not return to Germany, Einstein decided to stay in the United States. Here, Einstein became professor of theoretical physics at Princeton Research Institute, New Jersey.

Elsa believed her daughter Ilse had cancer a year later and went to Paris to stay by her side in the last days. Shortly after Ilse's death, Elsa had heart and lung problems. On December 20, 1936, she died in a house at Princeton.

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