What did she discovered ?

Would Albert Einstein be who he is today without Mileva ?

By Bambou FRANCESCHINI, published le 20/10/2025

Definition of the theory

It explains the connection between space and time, which together form « Space-Time ». The perception of Time and distance differs for everyone; it depends on their speed of movement. Finally, the speed of light remains constant, it is always the same.

One of the letters sent between Mileva and Albert Einstein

One of the letters send between Mileva and Albert Einstein.

Comment a-t-on su qu’une femme était aussi derrière la découverte de la relativité ?

Several letters exchanged between Mileva Einstein and Albert Einstein have been found which allowed us to look deeper into the importance of this woman. On March 27, 1901, the scientist wrote to her: « How happy and proud I will be when we have together led our work on relative motion to a victorious conclusion! ». Mileva would have helped Albert when he published his first articles, she wrote his courses and even helped him write the article on the photoelectric phenomenon, published only under Albert's name, he obtained a Nobel Prize.

How did we find out that a woman was also behind the discovery of relativity ?

However, it is impossible to know for how many years, or which specific works she contributed, due to a lack of proof. But we can observed a decline in the precision of Einstein's research after their divorce. For years she worked in the shadows for a man's glory. Throughout her life, she never claimed the title of collaborator. Forgotten by history, she suffered, like many other women, from the Matilda effect.