Georgi Manev ( bg, Георги Манев) (15 January 1884 – 15 July 1965) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, founder of the

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

Department of Theoretical Physics, rector of Sofia University (1936–37) and education minister of Bulgaria (1938). His work, mostly known as the Manev field, is used today in

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

science. The articles he published in the 1920s have been noticed by

Yusuke Hagihara was a Japanese astronomer noted for his contributions to celestial mechanics. Life and work Hagihara graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in astronomy in 1921 and became an assistant professor of astronomy there two years ...

and have been further analysed by Florin Diacu and co-workers.

Letter from Albert Einstein

Manev's gravitational theory ran counter to

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

’s theory of relativity. Einstein's less-than-glowing assessment of Manev’s theory had complicated his colleague’s prospects for a full professorship at Sofia University. In July 1929, Einstein wrote an apologetic letter to Manev, offering to help make the situation “good again.” The typewritten letter, signed “A. Einstein,” belongs to Manev's family and was subject of an art restoration project at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC). The letter was creased, partly from being folded, mailed, and tucked into a book for safekeeping during World War II. The creases were retained, removing the adhesive tape without damaging the typed words on the paper.

References

1884 births 1965 deaths Bulgarian physicists People from Veliko Tarnovo Academic staff of Sofia University Rectors of Sofia University {{Physicist-stub