Einstein, Hilbert, And The Theory of Gravitation

Some time ago I published a small piece * dealing with a charming little essay on 'the state of ether in magnetic fields', which the sixteen-year-old Einstein had written while he was awaiting admission to the E. T. H. in Zurich. This paper sought to trace the continuity between Einstein's early interest in electrodynamics and his later work on the special and general relativity theories. On reading this paper, Professor Eugene Wigner asked me whether David Hilbert had not independently discovered the field equations of gravitation.

David Hilbert (1862-1943) was the most influential mathematician of the early twentieth century and, together with Henri Poincaré, the last mathematical universalist. His main known areas of research and influence were in pure mathematics (algebra, number theory, geometry, integral equations and analysis, logic and foundations), but he was also known to have some interest in physical topics. The latter, however, was traditionally conceived as comprising only sporadic incursions into a scientific domain which was essentially foreign to his mainstream of activity and in which he only made scattered, if important, contributions.

David Hilbert (1862-1943) was the most influential mathematician of the early twentieth century and, together with Henri Poincaré, the last mathematical universalist. His main known areas of research and influence were in pure mathematics (algebra, number theory, geometry, integral equations and analysis, logic and foundations), but he was also known to have some interest in physical topics. The latter, however, was traditionally conceived as comprising only sporadic incursions into a scientific domain which was essentially foreign to his mainstream of activity and in which he only made scattered, if important, contributions.

David Hilbert (1862-1943) was the most influential mathematician of the early twentieth century and, together with Henri Poincaré, the last mathematical universalist.