Elsa Einstein

Infobox Person
name = Elsa Einstein

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image_size = 250px
caption = Elsa Einstein with her husband
birth_name = Elsa Einstein
birth_date = Birth date|1876|1|18
birth_place = Hechingen, Germany
death_date = Death date and age|1936|12|20|1876|1|18
death_place = Princeton, New Jersey
death_cause = A "Painful illness"
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residence = Flag|Germany (1876-1933) Flag|USA (1933-1936)
nationality = Flag|Germany
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religion = Jewish
spouse = Max Löwenthal (1896-1908)
Albert Einstein (1919-1936)
children =
parents = Rudolf Einstein and Fanny (née Koch)
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website =
footnotes = "I know very well what a talented physician our Albertle is."Einstein’s cousin Elsa in a conversation with Philipp Frank, about 1917

Elsa Einstein (18 January, 1876 - 20 December, 1936) was the second wife and cousin of Albert Einstein. She was the daughter of Rudolf Einstein and Fanny (née Koch) and was born in Hechingen, Germany. [http://www.einstein-website.de/biographies/einsteinelsa_content.html Short life history: Elsa Einstein.] ] Mrs. Einstein had the surname of Einstein at birth, lost it when she took the name of her first husband Max Löwenthal, and regained it in 1919 when she married her cousin Albert.

Early life

Elsa, the daughter of Rudolf Einstein and Fanny Koch, was born in Hechingen in January 1876. She had two sisters; Paula (1878-c.1955) and Hermine (1872-1942). Rudolf was a textile manufacturer in Hechingen. During the regular visits with the family in Munich she often played with her cousin Albert. In her Swabian dialect she called him “Albertle”. After Albert Einstein had left Germany in 1894 to follow his family to Milan, their ways parted.

Married life

In 1896 Elsa married textiles trader Max Löwenthal (1864-1914), from Berlin, with whom she had three children: daughters Ilse and Margot and a son who was born and died in 1903. [Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=146,287] They lived together in Hechingen. In 1902 Max Loewenthal went to Berlin due to job-related reasons.Fact|date=March 2008 His family stayed in Hechingen. She divorced Max on May 11, 1908, Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=146] and moved with her two daughters to an apartment above her parents on Haberlandstrasse 5,Fact|date=March 2008 in Berlin.

She began a relationship with her cousin Albert Einstein at Easter 1912 [Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=147] and married him on June 2, 1919. [Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=188] Ilse and Margot, Albert Einstein’s first cousins once removed, had already changed their surname to Einstein and were now also his stepdaughters.Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=193]

With daughters Ilse and Margot, the Einsteins formed a close-knit family. Although Albert and Elsa never produced any children of their own, Albert raised Ilse and Margot as his own. They lived in the Berlin area, also having a summer house in Caputh in nearby Potsdam, [Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=203] In 1929 she was the driving force when building their summer house in Caputh near Potsdam. By 1933 they had emigrated to Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Late life

Elsa spent most of her marriage with Albert acting as gatekeeper, protecting him from unwelcome visitors and charlatans. [Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=190,196]

In 1933 Albert and Elsa Einstein emigrated to Princeton, New Jersey, USA. In autumn 1935 they moved to a house in Mercer Street 112Harvnb|Highfield|1993|p=216] bought that August, but shortly afterwards Elsa developed an eye swelling and was diagnosed with heart and kidney problems. Elsa died after a painful illness on the 20th of December, 1936, in the Mercer house.

Citations

References

*Citation
last=Highfield
first=Roger
authorlink=
coauthors=Carter, Paul
title=The Private Lives of Albert Einstein
publisher=Faber and Faber
year=1993
location=London
isbn=0-571-17170-2
url=
doi=
id=

ee also

*List of coupled cousins