His doctoral thesis, Die Kerenzer Mundart des Kantons Glarus: In Ihren Grundzügen Dargestellt (1876), was supervised by linguist Eduard Sievers.

He then become the director of the gymnasium in Murten, canton of Fribourg, starting in 1880, but he resigned from his post several years later, in 1884, as a direct result of coming into conflict with the school's "hardline" ultramontanist governors.

[33] Albert Einstein's only sister, Maria "Maja" Winteler-Einstein, once described Winteler's school, which her brother had attended in his youth, as having, "a deservedly high reputation".

[34] In late October 1895, Winteler met a 16-year-old Albert Einstein when he arrived at the train station in Aarau, the latter having just come from Zürich, a city some 25 miles away.

He had subsequently been advised by the director of the Polytechnic, Albin Herzog, to finish up his education and obtain his Matura at a local secondary school before returning to Zürich to retake the exam the following year.

[53] Two days later, on 29 October, Albert's father, Hermann Einstein, wrote to Winteler to express his gratitude for taking in his son, and praised his hospitality.

"[60] The head of the household, Jost, often led the family during their frequent post-supper discussions (or "stimulating conversations", as Hermann Einstein once called them), or else would read aloud at the dinner table instead.

"[63] The year before he had been invited to stay with the Wintelers, Albert had had to endure isolation and loneliness from the absence of his parents and little sister, who had relocated to Italy so that his father could start a new electrical business after the old one had failed.

"[67] The young Einstein was favorably impressed by the Alte Kantonsschule Aarau, the school where Winteler was headmaster,[68][69] and found it much better than the strict Luitpold Gymnasium (now called the Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium München) that he had left behind in Germany.

While the Luitpold Gymnasium was, in Einstein's eyes, a "factory of rote learning",[76] the school that Winteler taught at placed value on, "free action and personal responsibility,"[77] instead.

Pupils were treated individually, more emphasis was placed on independent, sound thought than on punditry, and young people saw in the teacher not a figure of authority, but, alongside the scholar, a man of distinct personality.The Kantonsschule Aarau turned out to be Einstein's favorite school.

[79] The time Albert Einstein spent in Aarau with the Wintelers was the setting for his very first Gedankenexperiments (or "visualized thought experiments"[80]) in regards to his (then future) special theory of relativity.

"[90] Einstein Studying in Winteler's constantly busy home was apparently not an issue for the budding genius, for, as his sister later remembered: Even in a large, quite noisy group, [Albert] could withdraw to the sofa, take pen and paper in hand, set the inkstand precariously on the armrest, and lose himself so completely in a problem that the conversation of many voices stimulated rather than disturbed him.

When he finally wrote to Winteler's wife (instead of Marie herself) to end their relationship for good, Albert cited his rationale for the breakup as a desire to devote more of his time to his "intellectual work" (i.e. his "strict angels").

[105] While this was true, it must also be noted that, by the time Albert had broken off romantic relations with Marie, he had already met and befriended his future wife, Mileva Marić, who was, "the only woman in Einstein's section of the Polytechnic.

Writing to Winteler on 8 July 1901, he said: I was very happy to learn from my parents' last letter that you thought of me when you heard of a vacant teaching position in Burgdorf and that you are even ready to put in a recommending word for me there.

[112]Einstein explained to Winteler that, immediately after having received his parents' letter, he had written directly to the director of the Burgdorf Technikum to apply for a teaching job.

[117][118] For example, in a letter written on 8 July 1901, Albert confided to Jost that he had been infuriated by Paul Drude, a German professor and editor of Annalen der Physik, a scientific journal on physics.

He subsequently thanked Winteler for his, "kind letter" and asked him if he would give notice of his next visit to Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, "so that I can look you up".

Politically, Winteler and Einstein were kindred spirits; they both believed in, "world federalism, internationalism, pacifism, and democratic socialism, with a strong devotion to individual liberty and freedom of expression."

[134][135] Jost is said to have possessed an "edgy honesty",[136] and evidently placed great stock in integrity, as he helped his friend, Gustav Maier, to, "found the Swiss branch of the Society for Ethical Culture.

[143] Jost, a keen outdoorsman, often took pleasure in organizing kite-flying expeditions and nature hikes that his family and friends (and a few students) would attend regularly.

[145] While Albert Einstein looked up to and respected his "Papa" Winteler, and found him to be an enduring source of inspiration, he did acknowledge several faults in him; mainly, that he was, "a rather self-willed and complicit," man.

[147] Jost faced a terrible triple tragedy on 1 November 1906, when his son, Julius, shot and killed his wife and his son-in-law, Ernst Bandi, then committed suicide.

[148] Julius, who had been working as a merchant ship's cook in America,[149] had returned home to Switzerland showing clear signs of severe mental illness.

A "distraught"[150] Albert Einstein, Winteler's former houseguest, sent him a letter of condolence on 3 November 1906, in which he expressed his sympathy and deep grief at the loss of life.

Einstein wrote: Deeply shaken by the terrible tragedy that burst so suddenly upon you and your children, I feel compelled to express my deepest condolences, even though I know very well how impotent my feeble words are in the face of such pain.

All those who have personally experienced the goodness of your heart and have seen how earnestly you have always strived for truth and justice, must shudder at the thought of the terrible blow that blind fate has dealt you.

[162] Winteler's former home in Aarau, which still stands today, bears a commemorative plaque that reads: 'In this house lived 1895/96 as a cantonal student Albert Einstein 1879-1955 The famous physicist'.

In 2006, a building at the Alte Kantonsschule Aarau, which was originally named after physicist August Tuchschmid (1855-1939), was renamed 'Albert-Einstein-Haus' (or Albert Einstein House) in honor of Winteler's former houseguest.