Student's Search for Albert Einstein's Wife and Daughter Illuminates the Theory of Relative-ity

What started as a simple translation job led Marija Dokmanovic '99 on a three-year search for information about the lives of the wife and the illegitimate daughter of Albert Einstein. The puzzle began when, as a student at Armand Hammer United World College, Dokmanovic was approached by an author planning to write a book on Mileva Maric Einstein and the daughter Albert sired while he and Mileva were young physics students.

<<< How do you solve a problem? Like Marija-- Marija Dokmanovic '99 has spent three years searching for the lost daughter of Albert Einstein, and learning more about his first wife, who gave up her own physics studies to marry the famous scientist.

Dokmanovic was fascinated with the topic because she (like Mileva) is from Serbia, where Mileva is known as an important scientist despite her obscure life history. Dokmanovic collaborated with author Michelle Zackheim, translating letters and faxes between Serbo-Croatian and English. Later, she, her mother, and Zackheim scoured Serbian, German, Austrian, and Swiss archives and unearthed surprising facts about the great physicist's wife and daughter. Mileva and Albert were lovers as students, and Mileva probably gave their daughter, Lieserl, up for adoption in 1902, apparently because the scandal might hurt his career. They later married, and--as letters that Dokmanovic and fellow researchers found make clear--Mileva helped Albert refine many of the ideas for which he became famous.

Mileva was devoted to Albert; as a "typical Serbian woman," Dokmanovic says, she would do anything to please her husband. Mileva did Albert's university homework, gave up her own physics career for his, took care of their schizophrenic son even after Albert divorced her, and was his scientific partner. Dokmanovic has seen letters indicating that Albert adopted some of his wife's ideas. "Mileva's not given any credit, but she had a great impact on Albert's research," she says.

Dokmanovic is a scientist herself, a double major in biology and chemistry. This training served her well as the puzzle grew more complex. Painstakingly piecing together clues from countless archives and interviews with people who knew Mileva, Dokmanovic and colleagues believe they know who Lieserl grew up to become. (They won't divulge her identity, though, until they can prove their conclusion.)

Dokmanovic is drawn to Mileva's dramatic story because she wonders what she'd do in a similar situation. "It's a big thing for a Serbian to study at Mount Holyoke, and I feel important," she explains. "Mileva did the same; she was the only woman studying in Zurich Polytech Institute. But she stopped her thesis work, married Albert, and gave him all the credit. I would never do that, not even for Albert Einstein."