As part of preparations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Serbian scientist Mileva Einstein, Serbia has purchased a valuable collection of documents at a Christie’s auction in London.
The collection includes a series of 43 signed autograph letters from Albert Einstein to Mileva Marić and 10 autograph letters signed by Mileva addressed to Einstein.
The Ministry of Culture acquired these valuable documents, which will be stored in the State Archives of Serbia. Among them is a printed announcement of the marriage of Mileva and Albert Einstein on January 6, 1903. This acquisition is part of Serbia’s ongoing efforts to collect and preserve the legacy of significant figures from its history and culture.
The collection, comprising 53 letters and a total of 177 pages, offers precious insights into the life of Serbian physicist and mathematician Mileva Marić, her personal relationship, and scientific collaboration with Albert Einstein. It will form the Mileva Marić Einstein Personal Archive, which, due to its exceptional cultural and scientific significance, will be designated as a cultural treasure, the government announced.
The materials include not only declarations of love but also scientific content from Einstein’s most creative period, as well as exchanges of ideas with his then-girlfriend and future wife.
Einstein and Mileva Marić met in 1896 at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. He was 17 years old, and she was 20.
He had completed high school in Switzerland after leaving a gymnasium in Munich. She came to study from Vojvodina, then part of the Habsburg Monarchy.
In Zagreb, she attended the Boys’ Gymnasium before enrolling in physics in Zurich as the only woman in her year and the first Serbian woman to do so.
Photo: kultura.gov.rs