Einstein's Equal: The Genius of Mileva Marić

05/13/25 • 30 min

Episode Overview

In this episode of Math, Science, History, host Gabrielle dives deep into the extraordinary—yet often overlooked—life and legacy of Mileva Marić, Albert Einstein’s first wife and intellectual companion. Far more than a footnote in Einstein’s story, Mileva was a brilliant physicist and mathematician in her own right. Together, the couple studied, collaborated, and may have laid the foundation for some of the most revolutionary scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century.

Gabrielle uncovers newly re-examined letters, analyzes quotes from Einstein’s professors and contemporaries, and presents biographical findings that shed light on Marić’s intellectual contributions to Einstein’s early work—especially during the years leading up to his famous 1905 Annus Mirabilis.

3 Things You'll Learn in This Episode:

How Mileva Marić helped shape Einstein’s early scientific thinking—and what letters and biographies reveal about their collaboration.

What Einstein’s professors and colleagues really thought about his student days—and why Minkowski called him a “lazybones.”

Why historians now believe Mileva Marić’s role in Einstein’s 1905 papers may have been more significant than previously acknowledged.

Resources Mentioned:

The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein – Vol. 1: The Early Years, 1879–1902

Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić: The Love Letters (Princeton University Press)

Senta Troemel-Ploetz, “Mileva Einstein-Marić: The Woman Who Did Einstein’s Mathematics”

Desanka Trbuhović-Gjurić, Im Schatten Albert Einsteins (German)

Einstein’s letters at Christie's Auction House

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

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Episode Overview

3 Things You'll Learn in This Episode:

How Mileva Marić helped shape Einstein’s early scientific thinking—and what letters and biographies reveal about their collaboration.

What Einstein’s professors and colleagues really thought about his student days—and why Minkowski called him a “lazybones.”

Why historians now believe Mileva Marić’s role in Einstein’s 1905 papers may have been more significant than previously acknowledged.

Resources Mentioned:

The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein – Vol. 1: The Early Years, 1879–1902

Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić: The Love Letters (Princeton University Press)

Senta Troemel-Ploetz, “Mileva Einstein-Marić: The Woman Who Did Einstein’s Mathematics”

Desanka Trbuhović-Gjurić, Im Schatten Albert Einsteins (German)

Einstein’s letters at Christie's Auction House

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!

Website: mathsciencehistory.com Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! https://shorturl.at/bHIsc

🛍 Checking out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

Previous Episode

Jacoba van den Brande: Pioneer of Women’s Education

Episode Overview:

In this Flashcard Friday episode of Math! Science! History! host Gabrielle Birchak shines a light on the incredible story of Jacoba van den Brande, a seventeenth-century Dutch visionary who dared to imagine a world where women could be educated in mathematics, philosophy, and the sciences. Long before women had access to formal education, Jacoba not only excelled in math herself but also proposed the radical idea of an all-female academy. Join us as we explore her life, her bold vision, and how her ideas still echo through the halls of academia today.

Three Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The life and legacy of Jacoba van den Brande and her place in the history of mathematics.

The barriers women faced in 17th-century Europe when pursuing intellectual and academic opportunities.

Why Jacoba’s vision of an all-female academy remains relevant to ongoing conversations about equity and access in education.

Resources & Further Reading:

Wikipedia entry on Jacoba van den Brande

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

“Women and Science Before the Enlightenment” - Journal Article via JSTOR

Simon Stevin: Biography & Contributions

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com

📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

☕ Support the Show

🛍 Checking out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎙 Sponsored By: Coffee!! https://shorturl.at/bHIsc

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. On Matters of Consequence from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

Next Episode

The Theory of Relativity in less than 10 minutes

Episode Overview:

In this episode of Math, Science, History, we hop into a fictional electric vehicle—Einstein's EV—and cruise through space and time to uncover the fascinating world of relativity. What is the theory of relativity, and how did a curious young patent clerk change our understanding of the universe forever?

Using simple language and a fun driving analogy, we break down the core ideas behind both Special and General Relativity, explore Einstein’s thought experiments, and show how his discoveries shape your daily life—yes, even your GPS.

Whether you're a physics newbie or a science buff, this episode offers a friendly, accessible introduction to one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history.

3 Things You'll Learn in This Episode:

How Einstein's thought experiments led to the discovery of relativity.

What “time dilation” and “space-time curvature” actually mean—and how they affect your everyday life.

Why your GPS wouldn’t work without Einstein’s theory.

Resources & Further Reading:

Einstein’s 1905 Papers on Special Relativity (English Translation)

NASA: General Relativity - Theory and Tests

PBS Space Time: How GPS Relies on Relativity

Einstein Online - Max Planck Institute

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com

📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

🌍 Let’s Connect!

🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

☕ Support the Show

🛍 Checking out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

🎙 Sponsored By: Coffee!! https://shorturl.at/bHIsc

🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. On Matters of Consequence from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until next time, carpe diem!

Math! Science! History! - Einstein's Equal: The Genius of Mileva Marić

Transcript

00:00:01.629

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Math Science History. Today, I'm going to be talking about the woman who inspired Albert Einstein so much that he might have even published some of her ideas under his name. Hi, I'm Gabrielle Birchak. I have a background in math, science, and journalism, and by the time you're done listening to today's podcast, you're going to know so much more about Einstein's first wife, Mileva Maric.