Einstein: What did the world's most famous scientist face in his personal life?
Einstein worried about his son's mental healsays Zeff Rosenkranz, director and editor of th. So the Einstein Papers Project. Einstein's youngest son, Edward, was also affectionately called 'Tete
. He had inflammatory lung disease as a child but his mental problems were revealed in his youth. "There was a lot of sadness in his life," Rosen Kreins, who has researched Einstein's life, told BBC Mundo
One of Stein's sons, Hans Elbert, says, 'My father was unusual in that he continued to solve problems despite many setbacks. Even if wrong results are coming out, they keep trying again and again. There was probably one thing in his life that he gave up on and that was me. They tried to give me advice but they realized that I was very stubborn and not obedient.'
Einstein's first daughter, Lieserl, was born in 1902. 'We don't know what happened to him two years later,' says Rosencrans. This has been lost in history. For this reason, many speculations were made about it.
The girl may have been adopted or she may have died. We don't know what happened to him.' Documents and letters related to the life of the famous scientist have been preserved under the Einstein Papers Project and are crucial to understanding the human side of his character
Thanks to these documents, the birth of his first daughter was revealed. Einstein wrote to Milowa Merrick from Switzerland, "Is he in good health?" Does she cry easily? How are his eyes? Which of us has more in common with him? Who milks him? Is he hungry? She will be completely bald. I don't know him yet but I love him so much.' Excerpts from this letter were published in Walter Isaacson's book Einstein: His Life and His Work.
Birth of a child here in Milowa
Why did Milova leave Switzerland to have a baby and go to her family? To know the answer to this question we have to reach not only in history but also in the home of the young Einstein.
Henock Gutfreund, author of the recently published book on Einstein, 'Einstein on Einstein', told BBC Mundo: 'His mother was against his marriage to Milowa. He felt that his son's future with Milowa would be ruined. 'They warned that if Milowa got pregnant, the results would not be good. In those days, getting pregnant before marriage was like a scandal.
It is believed that Einstein was 19 years old and Milowa Merrick was 23 years old when they got married. She was his partner at the Munich Polytechnic Institute, where Milowa showed his aptitude for physics as a teenager. According to Isaacson, Einstein's letters reveal not only his love for Mileva, but also his mother's feelings against the relationship.
Einstein writes: 'My family mourns as if I were dead. They complain from time to time that love for you will lead to misfortune for me. They don't think you're right for me.' But Einstein followed his heart and when Milova became pregnant, he assured her that he would be a good husband. Before the baby girl was born, Einstein was in Bern. He was also excited about the prospect of a job in the government office of the Federal Office of Intellectual Property.
At that time, Einstein was tutoring in mathematics and physics. This job was supposed to bring stability to his life. In the letters written at that time, they also expressed some concerns with the hope of being together in the future.
Einstein wrote: 'The only problem we have is how to keep the laser with us. I don't want to let him go.' Einstein knew how difficult it was to raise an 'illegitimate' child in the society of the day, especially for someone who wanted to get a job as a respected government official.
Einstein is believed to have never met his first daughter, Lezral, and Milova left her with relatives in Serbia. Isaacson has suggested that a close friend of Milowa may have raised her daughter, but nothing can be said for sure.
We only found out about his daughter through his love letters,' says Gutfreund. Books were also written on this subject, but no concrete answer could be given. According to Rose Cranes, some journalists and researchers went to Serbia in search of documents, but nothing concrete could be found in this regard.
An expert says it was last written about when the girl was two years old. At that time he had scarlet fever. We don't know if she survived or not. ' At that time scarlet fever was a deadly disease and was considered very dangerous for young children. Einstein died in 1955 and is believed to have never spoken to anyone about his daughter.
When Einstein got a permanent job in Bern, Mileva moved in with him and they married in 1903. Their second son, Hans Albert, was born in 1904, followed by Edward in 1910. At that time the family lived in Munich. According to Isaacson, Hans Elbert said, 'When my mother was busy at home, our father would leave his work and take care of us for hours. I remember him telling us stories and playing the violin to keep us quiet.'
Edward had a difficult childhood, he was sick most of the time. According to the Einstein Encyclopedia, when Edward was four years old, he was seriously ill and bedridden for several weeks. When Edward developed pneumonia in 1917, Einstein wrote to a friend, 'My child's health makes me very depressed.' Despite all this, Edward was a good student and had an interest in the arts. Apart from writing poems, he was also interested in playing the piano.
He had many serious discussions with his father on music and philosophy. Einstein wrote that his son used to discuss important things in life with him.
As Einstein progressed in the field of science, his relationship with his wife began to deteriorate. Things got worse when Einstein started having an affair with his cousin. In 1914, Einstein's family moved to Berlin, but due to their behavior, Milowa returned to Switzerland. By 1919, the matter had been divorced.
According to Gutfreund, it was very difficult for Einstein to be away from his children, which is why he tried to maintain a strong relationship with both of his children. Rosen Cranes also says that she loved her children very much. Einstein would meet his children whenever he got the chance. He wrote, 'I take the children on vacations. When they grow up I will invite them to Berlin so we can spend time together.'
There was also a correspondence between Einstein and his son Edward. In 1930, Einstein wrote to his son, 'Life is like learning to ride a bicycle, you have to keep moving to keep your balance.' According to experts, Hans Einstein had a different personality. Years later, when Einstein wrote to his son, he not only explained his theory but also advised him to find a job. Einstein's youngest son also dreamed of becoming a physicist and was interested in the theories of Sigmund Freud.
In 1932, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Switzerland. At that time he was studying medicine. Gutfreund says that Einstein was deeply hurt by this. According to the Guardian newspaper, Einstein later wrote, 'One of my best children, whom I considered to be just like myself, is suffering from an incurable mental illness.' In 1933, when the threat of Nazi revolution in Germany was increasing, Albert Einstein chose to go to America.
Before leaving the country, Einstein visited where his youngest son was admitted. This was the last time father and son met each other.
Milowa cared for Edward at home, but when his mental illness worsened, she had to be hospitalized. After Milova's death in 1948, a legal guardian was appointed to care for Edward, at Einstein's expense. "I don't think Einstein and Edward wrote letters to each other during this time," says Rosencrans.
According to Isaacson, Edward was not allowed to travel to the United States because he was mentally ill and spent the last days of his life alone in a hospital. He died in 1965 at the age of 55.
Einstein's second son, Hans Albert, studied at the Federal Polytechnic School in Munich. In a letter written in 1924, Einstein expressed his joy and pride at his son's achievement, writing, 'My son Albert has become a capable and honest man.' Hans graduated in 1926 and received his Doctor of Technical Science degree in 1936. A brief biography of him published at the University of California states that 'His thesis for his doctoral degree is a solid work on sediment transport and his work is recognized by engineers around the world.
In 1938 Hans Elbert moved to America on his father's advice and there he continued his research work on sediment transport. Hans Einstein biographers Robert Ettima and Cornelia Mottel wrote in their book that 'Hans Elbert developed theoretical insights and practical methods that helped develop our current understanding of how sediments in flowing water. Is.' In 1988, the American Society of Engineers presented the Hans Elbert Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding work in these fields.
After arriving in the United States, Hans worked at the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and then at the Department of Agriculture there. He later devoted himself to the study of hydraulic engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Hans Einstein also influenced the development of sediment hydraulics in many other countries.
Ups and downs in relationships
Einstein's relationship with his children was volatile. In his letters, he sometimes seemed to be loving and sometimes reprimanding. Rosencranes says she had some fights with her own children as well. For example, Einstein's reaction was negative when young Hans told his father that he wanted to study engineering. Another disagreement arose years later when Einstein opposed Hans' choice of marriage.
Not only Einstein protested in this matter but Milowa also protested. But Hans ignored their objections and in 1927 married Frieda Knecht, who was nine years older than him. Einstein later accepted his son's decision and welcomed his wife into his family. They had three grandchildren.
Einstein and his son had a close relationship, but they were not very close to each other. Gutfreund says that part of the reason was that Einstein lived on the East Coast while his son Hans lived on the West Coast. Experts also believe that another reason for the distance in the relationship was that Einstein had also settled his second home. Einstein was married to Elsa, who also had two daughters from a previous marriage. After Friday's death, Hans married the biochemist Elizabeth Robose and died in 1973 at the age of 69.
Isaacson says that Einstein once told Milowa that his two children were a reflection of his conscience. Einstein had said that even after he was gone, his descendants would carry on his legacy. But being the offspring of a great scientist and a man who changed the way we think about the universe had its own complications. Edward once wrote, 'Sometimes being the offspring of a very important person is a problem because we tend to take ourselves for granted.'
Hans Einstein was born a year before the publication of his famous Theory of Relativity. When asked how it feels to be the son of such a great scientist, he said, 'If I hadn't learned to laugh from childhood, I would have gone mad.
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