PORTRAIT OF THE PHYSICIST AS A YOUNG MAN 47French correctly but with a light accent' [F4]. It was at this time that he met
Maurice Solovine, 'der gute Solo,' who came to be tutored and became a friend
for life. Einstein, Solovine, and another friend, Konrad Habicht, met regularly to
discuss philosophy, physics, and literature, from Plato to Dickens. They solemnly
constituted themselves as founders and sole members of the 'Akademie Olympia,'
dined together, typically on sausage, cheese, fruit, and tea, and generally had a
wonderful time.*
Meanwhile, Einstein's appointment by the Swiss federal council came through.
As of June 16, 1902, he was technical expert third class at the patent office at an
annual salary of SF 3500—on a trial basis.
Before settling in Bern, Einstein already had plans to marry a fellow student
from the ETH with whom he had often discussed science in Zurich. She was
Mileva Marie (or Marity), born in 1875 in Titel (South Hungary), of Greek
Catholic background. Einstein's parents were strongly opposed to the marriage;
'perhaps they had wished to pursue other plans' [M10]. In 1902 there was tem-
porary friction between Einstein and his mother, who neither then nor later liked
Mileva [E23]. It was altogether a hard year for Pauline. Her husband's series of
misfortunes had undermined his robust health. A brief and fatal heart disease
felled him. Einstein came from Bern to Milan to be with his father, who on his
death-bed finally consented to his son's marriage. When the end was near, Her-
mann asked everyone to leave so that he could die alone. It was a moment his son
never recalled without feelings of guilt**. Hermann Einstein died on October 10,
1902, and was buried in Milan.
Albert and Mileva married on January 6, 1903. There was a small party that
evening. Afterward, when the couple arrived at their lodgings, Einstein had to
wake up the landlord. He had forgotten his keys [M10]. Much later, Einstein
recalled the inner resistance with which he had entered the marriage [E24]. On
May 14, 1904, their son Hans Albert was born, through whom the family line
continues to this day.
Einstein did well at the patent office. He took his work seriously and often
found it interesting. There was always enough time and energy left for his own
physics. In 1903 and 1904 he published papers on the foundations of statistical
mechanics. On September 16, 1904, his provisional appointment was made per-
manent. Further promotion, wrote Haller, 'should wait until he has fully mas-
tered machine technology; he studied physics' [F5].
No one before or since has widened the horizons of physics in so short a time
as Einstein did in 1905. His work of that year will of course be discussed at length
*In his late sixties, Einstein remembered the days 'when we ran our happy "Academy," which after
all was less childish than those respectable ones which I got to know later from close in' [E22]. The
best description of the Akademie is the one by Solovine, who records that the members also read
Spinoza, Hume, Mach, Poincare, Sophocles, Racine, and Cervantes [S12].
**Helen Dukas, private communication.