Silberstein, Ludwik

Born Warsaw, (Poland), 17 May 1872

Died Rochester, New York, USA, 17 January 1948

Ludwik Silberstein is chiefly remembered for contributions to relativity theory and for numerous textbooks in theoretical physics, mathematics, and the philosophy of science. Ludwik was the son of Samuel and Emily (née Steinkalk) Silberstein. He graduated from Cracow Gymnasium in 1890. Silberstein attended the Cracow, Heidelberg, and Berlin universities, receiving his Ph.D. in mathematical physics from the Berlin University in 1894. He married Rose Eisenman in 1895; the couple had three children.

Silberstein’s career began at Lemberg, Poland (1895–1897), where he served as an assistant in physics. He was then appointed a lecturer in physics at the University of Bologna (1899–1904) and the University of Rome (1904–1920). In 1920, Silberstein accepted a position as research physicist at the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, USA; he became a naturalized US citizen in 1935. Silberstein’s principal...