There is a version according to which the brilliant physicist Albert Einstein worked on the theory of relativity not one, but in collaboration with his first wife Mileva Marich. And allegedly during publication, her name disappeared, and Einstein himself appropriated his wife’s intellectual heritage and imposed entirely as his own. We checked if it was true.

That's what They wrote About this in the journal Spletnik.ru in 2011:

“Christopher Bjerknes in Albert Einstein is an incorrigible plagiator (2002) says:“ It is obvious that Albert Einstein was not the only author of the 1905 manuscript about the principles of relativity. His wife Milev Marich could be a co -author or the only author of the work. Although the work was presented at the beginning or as co -authored by Mileva Einstein-Marich and Albert Einstein, or as the work of Mileva Einstein-Marich, the name of Albert became the only one under which the work was ultimately published.

Albert Einstein was married twice. For the first time - on a woman who had an education in the field of physics and mathematics. This woman was called Milev Marich.

She was born in Serbia, and later, together with Einstein, she entered the Zurich Polytechnic, ending up with him on the same course. Young people met, and their relationship began. In 1903, they got married. And in 1905 Einstein Published In the journal “Annals of Physics”, the article “To the electrodynamics of moving bodies”, and the theory of relativity began with it.

This is not to say exactly when the idea appeared that Mileva Marich took part in the creation of this work. Apparently, this statement is its popularity start To recruit after the collected works of Albert Einstein were published in 1987. One of the volumes contained his previously unknown correspondence with Marich.

The publication of this correspondence gave rise to interest in Einstein's first wife. Her focus was her biographypublished in 1969. Its author, Serbian researcher, Design Trbukhovich-Jurich, described in detail the life story of Milevy Marich. However, quite often her statements were not supported by any sources or evidence. For example, the biography said that Marich was a brilliant mathematician and even exceeded Einstein in this discipline. Moreover, the author of the biography claimed that Marich helped Einstein in writing his works on relativity and was an unnamed author of the article published in 1905. In both cases, the author of the biography did not provide specific links to sources.

The theory that Einstein stole his ideas with Marich in many ways I became Based on this biography. In 1990, during one of the scientific conferences, several scientists distributed the version of Trbukhovich-Jurich, referring to the biography she wrote, and told about it an English-speaking audience. At the same time, the biography itself was not translated into English then, and the speakers did not previously engage in Einstein. But in the wake of feminism, the theory gained popularity and began to spread in the masses.

Later it turned out that Trobukhovich-Jurich herself referred in her work to the words of Soviet physicist Abram Fedorovich Ioffe. Allegedly, he saw the manuscript of Einstein's article about the theory of relativity published in 1905, and it was on both the names of both - Einstein and Marich. When later Trbukhovich-Jurich was interviewed on this occasion, she She saidWhat was based on the memoirs published by Ioffe (the source was not indicated in the biography itself).

It was about article Joffe from 1955, dedicated to the memory of Albert Einstein, published in the journal "Success of Physical Sciences" and reprinted in memoirs. But there is no indication in it that Joffe saw any manuscript before publication. The Soviet Academician writes that the author of the 1905 article was an unknown person named Einstein-Marity (Writing Marych), and adds: Mariti is the girl’s maiden name, and according to the Swiss custom, she is added to her husband’s name.

The traditions that the Soviet academician referred to, does not exist, and he refers to it erroneously. Nevertheless, the fact of combining two surnames Trbukhovich-Jurich considered sufficient to assume that the article was written in co-authorship.

The second argument to which They come running Supporters of the version that Marich took part in Einstein’s works is the fact that the physicist allegedly wrote in letters to her about his work “ours”. We are talking about a letter from March 1901, in which Einstein Writes:

“I assure you, no one here dares and does not want to say anything bad about you. How happy and proud I will be when we both together successfully complete our work about the relativity of movement! ”

In this letter, Einstein assures Marich in his love and reassures, saying that she does not worry about the bad attitude towards her from his friends and relatives. However, c the rest Letters, speaking of their work in physics studies (and they discussed it repeatedly), Einstein uses the pronouns “I” and “mine”, including speaking of the theory of relativity. In the same way, in response letters, Marich writes about these ideas “You” and “Yours”. In addition, Einstein's heritage researchers note that in the correspondence between him and Marich, ideas about physics or the nature of relativity are practically not discussed. Perhaps Einstein once used the word “ours” in a fit of feelings, and possibly referred to the thesis of Marich, which she wrote on a similar topic (but did not pass).

Besides, No No evidence that Marich was a talented physicist or mathematician. Although he and Einstein studied together, Marich could not pass the final exams and protect the diploma. Nothing is known about her scientific works (or attempts to publish them: given her position of a woman, this could not be easy).

Marich herself never claimed the authorship of Einstein's theory of relativity. Although supporters of this idea bring As an argument, the fact that Einstein transferred the money from the Nobel Prize to his first wife according to the agreement that they previously agreed. However, Marich herself, after the divorce, remaining alone with the children (one of whom suffered from schizophrenia), lived in constrained circumstances, and the transfer of money could be explained by a simple need to maintain children from her first marriage.

Thus, there is no sufficient evidence that Marich somehow participated in the creation of the theory of relativity. Therefore, Einstein's accusations of plagiarism are untenable.