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Volume 1 presents important new material on the young Einstein. Over half the documents made available here were discovered by the editors, including a significant group of over fifty letters that Einstein exchanged with Mileva Maric, his fellow student and future wife. These letters, together with other previously unpublished documents, provide an entirely new view of Einstein's youth. The documents in the volume also foreshadow the emergence of his extraordinary creative power. In them is manifested his intense commitment to scientific work and his interest in certain themes that proved to be central to his thinking during the next decade. We can follow, for example, the beginnings of his preoccupation with the electrodynamics of moving bodies that was to lead to the development of this special theory of relativity. For the first time it can be seen how closely he followed such contemporary developments in physics as Planck's work on radiation theory and Drude's work on the electron theory of metals. In addition to all of Einstein's known correspondence and other writings from this period, the volume includes the relevant portions of all third-party letters and other contemporary documents that provide additional information about his secondary schooling at the Aargau Cantonal School; his four years at the Swiss Federal Plytechnical School, or the ETH; and his search for a job after graduation. Included in the volume are those sections of an unpublished biography by Einstein's sister, Maja Winteler-Einstein, which deal with his early years; his extensive notes on a physics course he took at the ETH; and previously unpublished photographs of the young Einstein and his teachers and friends. Documents in Volume 1 portray Einstein's experiences during the two stressful years after his graduation from the ETH in Zurich. Denied a position as an Assistant at the ETH, he lived a hand-to-mouth existence while he looked for a post at other universities; then he attempted to find a secondary-school post, and finally sought a nonacademic job. Tension with his parents over his plans to marry Mileva Maric is evident throughout this period. With the help of a friend, he finally found work at the Swiss Patent Office, the haven where he would spend the next seven years. Freed from his financial worries, he entered on one of the most productive periods of his life, as the next volume, Writings (1901-1910), will document.

Zusammenfassung
Presents material on the young Einstein. In addition to Einstein's known correspondence and other writings from this period, this volume includes the relevant portions of third-party letters and other contemporary documents that provide additional information.

Inhalt

Publisher's Foreword xi
Preface xiii
"Albert Einstein--A Biographical Sketch" (Translated Excerpts) by Maja Winteler-Einstein xv
List of Texts

1. Birth Certificate, 15 March 1879 3
2. Pauline Einstein to Fanny Einstein, 1 August 1886 3
3. Comment on the Proof of a Theorem, 1891-1895 3
4. Two Philosophical Comments, 1891-1895 4
5. "On the Investigation of the State of the Ether in a Magnetic Field," Summer? 1895 4
6. To Caesar Koch, Summer 1895 6
7. Albin Herzog to Gustav Maier, 25 September 1895 7
8. Entrance Report of the Gewerbeschule, Aargau Kantonsschule, ca. 26 October 1895 7
9. Gustav Maier to Jost Winteler, 26 October 1895 8
10. Aargau Kantonsschule Record, 26 October 1895-3 October 1896 8
11. Hermann Einstein to Jost Winteler, 29 October 1895 10
12. Minutes of Teachers' Conference, Aargau Kantonsschule, 8 November 1895 10
13. Jost Winteler to Gustav Maier, 21 December 1895 10
14. Hermann Einstein to Jost Winteler, 30 December 1895 11
15. Pauline Einstein to the Winteler Family, 30 December 1895 11
16. Release from Württemberg Citizenship, 28 January 1896 11
17. Inspector's Report on a Music Examination, Aargau Kantonsschule, ca. 31 March 1896 12
18. To Marie Winteler, with a Postscript by Pauline Einstein, 21 April 1896 12
19. Final Grades, Aargau Kantonsschule, 5 September 1896 13
20. To the Department of Education, Canton of Aargau, 7 September 1896 14
21. Matura Examination (A) German: "Synopsis of Goethe's Goetz von Berlichingen," 18 September 1896 14
22. Matura Examination (B) French: "My Future Plans," 18 September 1896 15
23. Matura Examination (C) Geometry, 19 September 1896 16
24. Matura Examination (D) Physics: "Tangent Galvanometer and Galvanometer," 19 September 1896 18
25. Matura Examination (E) Natural History: "Evidence of the Earlier Glaciation of Our Country," 21 September 1896 20
26. Matura Examination (F) Algebra, 21 September 1896 21
27. Matura Examination (G) Chemistry, 21 September 1896 23
28. ETH Record and Grade Transcript, 5-10 October 1896-2 August 1900 25
29. From Marie Winteler, 4-25 November 1896 29
30. From Marie Winteler, 30 November 1896 30
31. Pauline Einstein to Marie Winteler, 13 December 1896 31
32. Pauline Einstein to Marie Winteler, 24 March 1897 31
33. Statement of a Fine, 23-28 April 1897 32
34. To Pauline Winteler, May? 1897 32
35. To Pauline Winteler, 7 June 1897 33
36. From Mileva Maric, after 20 October 1897 34
37. H. F. Weber's Lectures on Physics, ca. December 1897-ca. June 1898 36
38. To Maja Einstein, 1898 123
39. To Mileva Maric, 16 February 1898 123
40. To Mileva Maric, 16 April-8 November 1898 124
41. To Mileva Maric, after 16 April 1898 124
42. Jérôme Franel to Hermann Bleuler, 21 October 1898 125
43. To Mileva Maric, after 28 November 1898 125
44. To Maja Einstein, after February 1899 126
45. To Mileva Maric, 13 or 20 March 1899 126
46. To Rosa Winteler, 29 April 1899 127
47. To Rosa Winteler, 18 May 1899 127
48. To Julia Niggli, 28 July 1899 127
49. Verse in the Album of Anna Schmid, August 1899 128
50. To Mileva Maric, early August 1899 129
51. To Julia Niggli, 6? August 1899 129
52. To Mileva Maric, 10? August 1899 130
53. From Mileva Maric, after 10 August--before 10 September 1899 131
54. To Mileva Maric, 10 September 1899 132
55. To Julia Niggli, 11 September 1899 133
56. To Pauline Winteler, 11 September 1899 134
57. To Mileva Maric, 28? September 1899 135
58. To Mileva Maric, 10 October 1899 136
59. Municipal Certificate of Residence and Good Conduct, 18 October 1899 137
60. To the Swiss Federal Council, 19 October 1899 137
61. From Mileva Maric, 1900? 138
62. To the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs, 28 February 1900 138
63. Mileva Maric to Helene Kaufler, 9 March 1900 138
64. Mileva Maric to Helene Kaufler, 4 June-23 July 1900 139
65. To the Zurich City Council, 26 June 1900 139
66. Municipal Police Detective's Report, 4 July 1900 140
67. Adolf Hurwitz to Hermann Bleuler, 27 July 1900 140
68. To Mileva Maric, 29? July 1900 141
69. To Mileva Maric, 1 August 1900 142
70. To Mileva Maric, 6 August 1900 143
71. To Mileva Maric, 9? August 1900 144
72. To Mileva Maric, 14? August 1900 145
73. To Mileva Maric, 20 August 1900 146
74. To Mileva Maric, 30 August or 6 September 1900 147
75. To Mileva Maric, 13? September 1900 149
76. To Mileva Maric, 19 September 1900 150
77. To Adolf Hurwitz, 30 September 1900 151
78. To Adolf Hurwitz, 26 September 1900 151
79. To Mileva Maric, 3 October 1900 152
80. Mileva Maric to Helene Kaufler, before 9 October 1900 153
81. To Helene Kaufler, 11 October 1900 153
82. Questionnaire for Municipal Citizenship Applicants, 11-26 October 1900 153
83. Mileva Maric to Helene Savic, with a Postscript by Einstein, 11 December 1900 154
    "Conclusions Drawn from the Phenomena of Capillarity," 13 December 1900 [title only] 155
84. Minutes of the Municipal Naturalization Commission of Zurich, 14 December 1900 155
85. Mileva Maric to Helene Savic, 20 De…