Helen Dukas (17 October 1896 – 10 February 1982) was

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 secretary. She also co-authored '' Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel'' and co-edited ''Albert Einstein: The Human Side'' with

Banesh Hoffmann Banesh Hoffmann (6 September 1906 – 5 August 1986) was a British mathematician and physicist known for his association with Albert Einstein. Life Banesh Hoffmann was born in Richmond, Surrey, on 6 September 1906. He studied mathematics and ...

. Dukas was one of two trustees chosen by Einstein, according to his

Last Will and Testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distributio ...

, to hold the literary rights to all of his manuscripts, copyrights, publication rights, royalties, and royalty agreements. The other trustee was the

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

Dr.

Otto Nathan Otto Nathan (1893–1987) was an economist who taught at Princeton University (1933–35), New York University (1935–42), Vassar College (1942–44), and Howard University (1946-52). Nathan was a close friend of Albert Einstein for many years a ...

.Bernstein, Jeremy (6 July 1987) "Einstein when young." ''New Yorker''. Vol. 63, Issue 20
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In short, Dukas and Dr. Nathan were the "executors of his literary heritage." They collaborated on the compilation of ''The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein,'' using documents that were subsequently donated to the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Einstein and Dukas were subjected to intrusive surveillance by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

under

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

Early life

Her name was actually ''Helene'' and she was the daughter of a German-Jewish merchant named Leopold Dukas. Born, raised and educated initially in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

, she had six siblings, and her mother was named Hannchen (née Liebmann). Hannchen Dukas was coincidentally from the same town,

Hechingen Hechingen ( Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of t ...

, that

Elsa Einstein Elsa Einstein (18 January 1876 – 20 December 1936) was the second wife and cousin of Albert Einstein. Their mothers were sisters, thus making them maternal first cousins. Further, their fathers were first cousins, making the couple paternal se ...

, Albert Einstein's second wife, hailed from. It was through this connection that the Helen Dukas would gain the position as Albert Einstein's secretary in 1928. Following Elsa Einstein's death in 1936, Dukas would take on many of the housekeeper tasks for the

Einstein family The Einstein family is the family of physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955). Einstein's great-great-great-great-grandfather, Jakob Weil, was his oldest recorded relative, born in the late 17th century, and the family continues to this day. Al ...

, by this point living in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, where Dukas would remain until her death. She died unmarried. There is no evidence that Helen Dukas and Albert Einstein had an affair.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukas, Helen 1896 births 1982 deaths People from Freiburg im Breisgau 20th-century German Jews German biographers German women biographers German emigrants to the United States