Albert Einstein's granddaughter Evelyn dies (but was she really his secret illegitimate child?)

Add to My Stories Albert Einsteins granddaughter has died with a mystery still unsolved over whether she was really the illegitimate child of one of the great minds of the 20th century.Evelyn Einstein, who was adopted as a baby by the physicists son Hans and his wife, Frieda, claimed she was actually fathered by the wild-haired genius.She said she was told as a child that her birth in 1941 was the result of her German-born grandfathers affair with a ballet dancer.

Family connection: Albert Einstein poses with his first wife, Mileva, and their son, Hans Albert, in 1904. Hans adopted Evelyn after her birth in 1941 - but she later claimed she was in fact the secret love child of her adopted grandfather. Left, Einstein at the start of a holiday in the Adirondacks in 1936

The father of modern physics, famous for discovering the theory of relativity, lived at the time in Princeton, New Jersey, and Evelyn saw her grandfather infrequently after moving with her family to California.Although she didnt have any proof, she insisted in interviews that she had been raised by Einsteins son to spare the family any embarrassment.Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76, when Evelyn was 14.Years later, she was allegedly offered a piece of Einsteins brain, which would have allowed her to carry out a DNA test, but it never happened.Ms Einstein, who was homeless and lived out of her car for several months following a bitter divorce, died on April 13 at the age of 70 at her home in Albany, California, still fighting to get a piece of grandpas fortune.

It's all relative: An image of one of some 1,400 letters written by Albert Einstein to his wives and children ! which we re made public suggesting that the genius was often more interested in women than his famous relativity theory When he died, Einstein left 75,000 papers and other personal items to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.And now his name and likeness draw nearly $10,000,000 (6million) a year, ranking eighth in a Forbes magazine list of top earning dead celebrities after people like Michael Jackson and Dr. Seuss.All the royalties go towards providing scholarships and research at the Israeli university.Butspeaking just two months before her death, the scientists granddaughter said she was rudely blown off when she asked the Hebrew University for help as her health deteriorated.'Everyoneassumes Im filthy rich and they think I have a mental problem because Im not using my money,' she told the New York Post.'Idont want to be rich. I dont want huge amounts of money. Id like to move into an assisted-living facility that isnt dangerous,' she added.

When love dies: Albert and first wife Mileva. When the couple split their son, Hans, who had been very close to his father, took the divorce very badly. There was a rift between the two Einstein men for yearsInanother interview, she said: 'Im outraged. Its hard to believe they would treat the family the way they have, which has been abysmally.Ms Einstein had been suffering for years from cancer, heart problems and diabetes.Her friend, Allen Wilkinson, told the New York Times she had just begun to help her write her memoirs.

'She always said her grandfather wasnt this great god of science, to her he was just grandpa,' he said.Ms Einstein spoke five languages and had a masters degree in medieval literature, but she worked at various times as a dogcatcher, a cult deprogrammer and a police officer.She was married for 13 years to eccentric American anthropology professor Grover Krantz, who is famous for trying to prove the existen! ce of 'B igfoot'.It was after the marriage split that she hit rock bottom, becoming, as she described it, a 'dumpster diver' searching in rubbish bins for food.A Los Angeles-based company Greenlight, handles licencing for items such as Einstein t-shirts, mugs, puzzles, coins, posters and other collectibles.What does a bobble-head have to do with a literary estate? she said.
She was reportedly preparing a lawsuit to try and claim a share of the profits at the time of her death.Einstein was ruled Time magazines person of the century in 1999, when he was described as the pre-eminent scientist in a century dominated by science.
A memorial service is being planned for Ms Einstein for June. She left no immediate survivors.