MG11 
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The origin of relativistic cosmology. Einstein, De Sitter and the cosmological constant.

In the autumn of 1916 Einstein learned from De Sitter that it appeared to be impossible to set up a model of the universe as a self-gravitating, Newtonian mechanical system. Guided by Machian ideas Einstein succeeded within a year to construct a spatially closed model consistent with slight generalization of his new theory of spacetime and gravitation. His a priory assumption that the universe is static forced him to modify his field equation by a term representing a cosmic repulsion. Almost instantaneously De Sitter presented another, matter-free solution to the new field equation, which contradicted Einstein’s Machian expectations. In an extensive exchange of letters first between Einstein and De Sitter, later also between Einstein, Weyl and Klein the necessity of matter, the presence or not of singularities and the status of inertia in the models have been discussed. The discussion ended with a letter from Einstein to Klein in June 1916 in which Einstein admitted that De Sitter’s empty model was free of singularities.