Albert Einstein Family Tree: The Story Behind Physics's Greatest Mind

Albert Einstein, born 14 March 1879 in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire, was the 1921 Nobel laureate in Physics and author of the special and general theories of relativity — perhaps the most-celebrated scientific mind of the 20th century. He died 18 April 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey.

The Family's Roots: South German Jewish

The Einstein family is Ashkenazi Jewish, from southern Germany (Swabia).

His Parents

Father: Hermann Einstein (1847–1902) — engineer and electrical-equipment salesman; co-owned an electrical company in Munich.

Mother: Pauline Koch (1858–1920) — daughter of a wealthy Württemberg grain merchant.

His Sister

Maja Einstein (1881–1951) — Albert's younger sister; the only sibling; was a romance-languages scholar.

His First Wife: Mileva Marić

Mileva Marić (1875–1948) — Serbian; Albert's first wife and fellow physics student at the Zurich Polytechnic; married December 1903; divorced February 1919.

Their Children

Lieserl Einstein, born January 1902 — daughter; fate unknown (either died in infancy or given up for adoption).

Hans Albert Einstein (1904–1973) — son; hydraulic engineer; professor at UC Berkeley.

Eduard Einstein (1910–1965) — son; institutionalised for schizophrenia from age 20.

His Second Wife: Elsa Löwenthal

Elsa Löwenthal (1876–1936) — Albert's first cousin (their mothers were sisters) AND his second cousin (their fathers were first cousins); married June 1919 until her death December 1936.

The Einstein Family Tree at a Glance

Family Origins: Ashkenazi Jewish; Ulm and Munich, Germany.

Father: Hermann Einstein (1847–1902) — engineer.

Mother: Pauline Koch (1858–1920).

Sister: Maja Einstein (1881–1951) — romance-languages scholar.

First Wife: Mileva Marić (1875–1948; Serbian physics student; m. 1903, div. 1919).

Children: Lieserl (b. January 1902, fate unknown); Hans Albert (1904–1973) — Berkeley hydraulic engineering professor; Eduard (1910–1965) — institutionalised for schizophrenia.

Second Wife: Elsa Löwenthal (1876–1936) — Albert's first cousin (maternal) and second cousin (paternal); m. 1919 until her death.

Albert Einstein:

  • Born 14 March 1879, Ulm
  • ETH Zürich (Polytechnic; teaching diploma 1900); University of Zürich (PhD 1905)
  • 1905 — Annus Mirabilis: four papers (photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, E=mc²)
  • General relativity completed 1915
  • Nobel Prize in Physics 1921 (for photoelectric effect, not relativity)
  • Fled Nazi Germany in 1933; Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (1933–1955)
  • US citizen 1940
  • Died 18 April 1955, Princeton

What the Einstein Family Story Teaches Us

A salesman-engineer father. A merchant-daughter mother. One sister who stayed close. A first marriage to a fellow physics student that ended after 16 years; three children, one of unknown fate, one who became a Berkeley professor, one who was institutionalised. A second marriage to a cousin. A career that rewrote physics.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Einstein story carries the same lesson. Even history's most-celebrated minds have complicated family records. The Einstein tree has a daughter whose fate was unknown, a son who became a Berkeley professor, and a son who spent his life in institutions. Write down every child, even the difficult chapters. The honest tree carries them all.

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