How Were the Hilbert--Einstein Equations Discovered?

Abstract

The pathways along which A. Einstein and D. Hilbert independently came to the gravitational field equations are traced. Some of the papers that assert a point of view on the history of the derivation of the gravitational field equations ``that radically differs from the standard point of view'' are critically analyzed. It is shown that the conclusions drawn in these papers are completely groundless.

40 pages, misprints removed