Michele Angelo Besso (25May 187315March 1955) was a Swiss-Italian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who worked closely with

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

Biography

Besso was born in Riesbach from a family of Italian Jewish ( Sephardi) descent. He was a close friend of

during his years at the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, (today known as ETH Zurich) and then at the patent office in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, where Einstein helped him to get a job. Besso is credited with introducing Einstein to the works of

Ernst Mach Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach ( ; ; 18 February 1838 – 19 February 1916) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, who contributed to the understanding of the physics of shock waves. The ratio of the speed of a flow or object to that of ...

, the sceptical critic of physics who influenced Einstein's approach to the discipline. Einstein introduced Besso to his future wife, Anna Winteler, the sister of Einstein's then girlfriend Maria Winteler. Einstein called Besso "the best

sounding board A sounding board, also known as a tester and abat-voix is a structure placed above and sometimes also behind a pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platf ...

in Europe" for scientific ideas. In Einstein's original paper on special relativity, he ended the paper by stating, "In conclusion, let me note that my friend and colleague M. Besso steadfastly stood by me in my work on the problem here discussed, and that I am indebted to him for many a valuable suggestion." Besso died in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, aged 81. In a letter of condolence to the Besso family, Albert Einstein wrote, "Now he has preceded me a little in parting from this strange world, too. This means nothing. For us believing physicists the distinction between past, present, and future only has the meaning of an illusion, though a persistent one."Christie's: ''Time's arrow: Albert Einstein's letters to Michele Besso''
ccessed on 3 February 2025 German original (first photo): "" Einstein died one month and three days after his friend, on 18 April 1955. He was the nephew of Marco Besso, president of

Assicurazioni Generali Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. ( , ; meaning 'general insurances') or commonly known as Generali Group is an Italian insurance company based in Trieste. As of 2022, it is the largest insurance company in Italy and ranks among the world's largest i ...

, and of the

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Davide Besso.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Besso, Michele 1873 births 1955 deaths Swiss engineers Swiss Sephardi Jews People from Zurich Italian Sephardi Jews 19th-century Swiss Jews

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links