Guiding Stars in Astronomy: Williamina Fleming

In celebration of the solar eclipse later this month, I am sharing stories of amazing women in astronomy in my series of Guiding Stars in Astronomy. Today's post shares the story of Scottish-American astronomer Williamina Fleming, who went from being a single mother working as a maid to one of the most proficient astronomers of the late-19th century.

Williamina Fleming (May 15, 1857 – May 21, 1911)

Williamina Fleming was the first member of the all-female team of Harvard computers, the women who calculated so many of the early astronomical discoveries and who are just now beginning to get the attention they deserve.

Williamina didn't set out to have a career in astronomy. She married James Fleming in Scotland in 1877, and when she was 21 they emigrated to Boston, where shortly thereafter he abandoned her with their small child, leaving her to fend for them both. She'd worked as a teacher before, but as a single mother, she was ineligible for any teaching position -- those were only for men and unmarried women. Instead, she took a position as a maid.

It was a placement that turned out to be a happy accident that changed the course of her life. Her employer happened to be Edward Pickering, director of the Harvard College Observatory. She performed her duties efficiently, and earned his respect as a housekeeper. He was having trouble with the computers he'd hired to process astronomical data, running the seemingly endless computations needed to analyze the information from the photographs taken with the observatory's telescope. Frustrated with them one day, he scoffed, "My Scottish maid could do better!"

As it turns out, she could. In 1881 he taught her how to analyze stellar spectra -- the emissions of the stars they were studying -- as shown on the photographic plates, and to make the necessary calculations to understand what they were looking at. By 1886, she was in charge of a large group of women hired to run these calculations -- the Harvard calculators, as they've come to be known. Many of them are some of the brightest women in astronomical history, such as Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, and Anonia Maury.

Harvard Computers hard at work. Photo Caption: Williamina Fleming (standing) presides over women computers at the Harvard College Observatory, 1891. Photo source: Harvard University Archives.

She devised one of the earliest systems for classifying stars, using the information about their relative amount of hydrogen observed in their spectra. It was a brilliant beginning of trying to organize stars by type, and was the predecessor for Annie Jump Cannon's classification system later on.

Over the next nine years, she catalogued more than 10,000 stars and other astronomical phenomena -- a significant contribution to the Draper Catalogue of Stellar Spectra, published in 1890, a substantial project undertaken by Pickering in honor of his predecessor Henry Draper to survey of the sky and to catalogue the stars. Perhaps her most notable discovery was the Horsehead Nebula in 1888, although there were many more discoveries over the next 20 years. She became so well respected in the astronomical field she was the first American woman to be named as an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London in 1906.

Her outstanding contribution to astronomy is even more remarkable when you consider that, unlike many of her computer colleagues, she never studied astronomy. In response to her skillful research she was given the position as Curator of Astronomical Photographs at Harvard in 1899, a role she cherished. She continued her research until her death in 1911, discovering an astounding 310 variable stars, as well as 10 novae and 52 nebulae. In 1910 it was her research that led to the discovery of the first white dwarf star.

You can read her journal on the Harvard University Archives.

I can't do the work of SRPS without your your support!
If you like what you read here, please share this post with your friends.

---

You may also be interested in:

Annie Jump Cannon - astronomer
Over the course of her remarkable career, Annie Jump Cannon (December 11, 1863 - April 13, 1941) analyzed and measured more stars than any other astronomer before or since, created a classification system that is still in use today, and did more to further our understanding of the universe than anyone else of her era. Plus, you know, she has a pretty darn awesome name!

Chien-Shiung Wu - courageous hero and brilliant scientist
Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese-American experimental physicist, spent her entire life thinking about and solving complex problems in physics. Because of her absolute dedication to performing nearly perfect experiments and her reputation as a thorough and brilliant experimentalist, she quickly became known as the "Queen of Nuclear Research," and the "First Lady of Physics."

Role Model: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, theoretical astrophysicist, is still often referred to as "the 63rd black woman in American history with a Physics Ph.D." even though there have been a few more joining her since she graduated in 2010. But only just a few. And she's working on fixing that.

Read More

Guiding Stars in Astronomy: Helen Sawyer Hogg

In celebration of the solar eclipse later this month, I am sharing stories of amazing women in astronomy in my series of Guiding Stars in Astronomy. The first post featured Maria Mitchell, the first woman to work as a professional astronomer in the United States. Today's post shares the story of Canadian-American astronomer Helen Hogg, who spent her career researching variable stars and spreading the love of astronomy to students and the general public throughout her remarkable career.

Helen Sawyer Hogg (August 1, 1905 – January 28, 1993)

I love that Helen Sawyer Hogg's middle name was Battle. What a great middle name, right? I can't help but wonder what kind of role it played in her life. Did she feel a little bit extra inspired to keep fighting when things got hard? Did it give her an extra burst of energy when she was pushing for more opportunities for women in astronomy, both when she was a young researcher who couldn't get a paid position, and again when she was an established icon of science working to open doors for younger women to follow their own guiding stars?

Helen Sawyer was a smart young woman who graduated from high school at the age of 15, and went off to Mount Holyoke College at the age of 17. She had originally planned on becoming a chemist, but her career path changed dramatically in her junior year after attending introductory astronomy classes with Dr. Anne Sewell, and then an event with Annie Jump Cannon, the acclaimed astronomer from Harvard. She was inspired by these two women and their love of the stars, and changed her major to astronomy in her junior year. Despite a late arrival to the subject, she graduated magna cum laude in 1926.

(Photo of the cast of Harvard Observatory's production of H.M.S. Pinafore, dated December 31, 1929. Harlow Shapley is in the center of the back row. The women in the front row are (left to right) Mildred Shapley, Adelaide Ames, Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin, Henrietta Swope, Sylvia Mussels Lindsay, and Helen Sawyer Hogg. Source: Harvard College Observatory History in Images)

With the help of Dr. Cannon, she found a place at the Harvard Observatory for her graduate studies, although she was technically a student at Radcliff College because Harvard didn't allow women to earn graduate degrees in science at the time. She work with internationally renown astronomer Dr. Harlow Shapley -- a task master who expected precision work from his students. Helen performed well, spending long hours studying globular clusters, measuring their size and brightness and cataloging them as part of her research. Through her intense dedication she earned her master's degree in two years, and three years later she had a Ph.D. All while also teaching classes at both Mount Holyoke and Smith College.

After graduation, she married Frank Scott Hogg and together they moved to British Columbia where he had a position with the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. Because Dominion, like many other research organizations of the era, would not hire both husbands and wives using the excuse of avoiding accusations of nepotism, Helen was forced to work as a volunteer, with only a small stipend to help pay for childcare. While it wasn't the situation was completely unfair to female scientist who were married to men who worked in the same field, she made the best of it, pushing forward to make a name for herself. Using their 72-inch reflecting telescope she photographed variable stars and tracking their cycles of change in brightness. Overall, she found a whopping 132 new variable stars in the Messier 2 globular cluster, and published her findings in astronomical catalogues that are still in use today.

In 1935, the Hoggs moved to the University of Toronto, working at the David Dunlap Observatory. She continued her research on globular clusters, but also used began studying Cepheid variable stars based on discoveries by another pioneering female astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavittin, with the idea that they could help scientists understand the age, size, and structure of the Milky Way Galaxy.

She also took several international trips to work at different observatories where there were better views of her globular clusters. She was one of the first astronomers who did so, and through her travels she was able to build an extensive network of international astronomers. Over the next few years, she established herself as a leading authority in astronomy with her dedication to precise measurements and detailed reports. Among other prestigious awards, in 1950 she was awarded the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy, a prize named in honor of her former mentor.

But her work as an astronomer was only one aspect of her remarkable career in science. She was also passionate about sharing her love of astronomy with others, both as a teacher as well as a public figure. Upon the outbreak of World War II, she took over classes that had originally been reserved for male professors who were now off serving in the military. These classes were her opportunity to pass on the spark of inspiration she had received so many years before in that first astronomy class she took at Mount Holyoke.

Over the course of her 60 year career, she published over 200 papers, as well as more accessible publications for non-astronomers. She wrote a wildly popular weekly column in the Toronto Star, "With the Stars," as well as a series of columns in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada filled with historical astronomical information.

In the 1970s, she expanded her outreach efforts. Her 8-part series on Canadian television in 1970 and the publication of her widely successful book The Stars Belong to Everyone in 1976 sparked an even greater interest in astronomy by the general public, and she used her notoriety to continue advocating for better science education and increased understanding of astronomy. She served as board-member or president of nearly every Canadian society associated with astronomy, often as the first woman in whatever position she held. And when she realized there wasn't an organization dedicated solely to promoting astronomical research and education she founded the Canadian Astronomical Society.

There's no telling how many countless future scientists were inspired by her teachings, writings and outreach efforts. In particular, it would be difficult to judge how many young women entered science research based on her tireless efforts to promote better opportunities for women in astronomy. For this, she is considered an exceptional Self-Rescuing Princess Society role model!

Check out this great television interview from 1981

For more info about her life, you can read "She Walks in Beauty" from the University of Toronto Magazine 

I can't do the work of SRPS without your your support!
If you like what you read here, please share this post with your friends.

Read More

Guiding Stars in Astronomy: Maria Mitchell

Later this month, folks all across the US and most of Canada and Mexico will be treated to a total or near-total solar eclipse, the first time since 1918 according to the news reports I keep seeing about it. In honor of this exciting event, I'm declaring August to be a month full of guiding stars in Astronomy. I have a long, long list of women who have contributed to our understanding of how the universe works, and I'm planning on running special posts all month celebrating them.

It's especially appropriate to start off with Maria Mitchell, whose birthday was August 1, 1818.

Maria Mitchell (August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889)

The 19th century was full of amazing women who blazed trails in science, math, medicine and literature. Many of these women had parents who fought convention to make sure their daughters were given a good education and supported them in their interests. Others lived in a community that encouraged women to be independent or self-sufficient.

In Maria Mitchell's case, she had both. Her parents were Quakers, a religion that valued education and required equal opportunities for girls and boys to learn. Her father was a teacher, and Maria would attend classes at his school during the day, and then learn astronomy from him at night as the two gazed at the stars through his personal telescope. In fact, when she was 12, she and her father calculated the exact moment of an annular eclipse -- the kind where the moon is centered over the sun, giving the appearance of a ring of fire around it.

Living in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Maria was surrounded by the wives of sailors who spent much of their time running the household and whatever business interests the family was involved in. This atmosphere of relative equality must have certainly played an equally important role in her understanding of what women were capable of as well as giving her the self-assuredness needed to pursue her passion for astronomy and to take a stand when she encountered injustice. She spent her life doing both -- looking at the stars at night, and looking at the world around her during her days. She was a ardent abolitionist, giving up wearing cotton to protest slavery, and opening the first desegregated school in the area.

She also had strong feelings about the rights of women, and was the friend of many suffragists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton. During her tenure as professor of astronomy at Vassar College she learned that, despite her decades of work in the field and her international reputation, she was earning less than many male professors with less teaching experience. She insisted on an increase in her salary and, incredibly, won.

Her reputation was well deserved. In 1847, while working as the first librarian of the Nantucket Atheneum, she spent her evenings looking through her own telescope, taking note of what she saw. On October 1, at 10:30 pm (we know because she took notes), she made a tremendous discovery: a new comet. "Miss Mitchell's Comet," as it became known (modern designation: C/1847 T1), was a "telescopic comet, meaning it could only been seen through a telescope. Her discovery earned her a gold medal from the King of Denmark, and brought international fame, launching her astronomy career. (She wasn't the first woman to earn one of these prestigious medals, though. She was preceded by astronomers Caroline Herschel and Maria Margarethe Kirch.)

In 1848, she was appointed a computer for the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, a paid position calculating the tables of positions of Venus, making her the first American woman to work as a professional astronomer, and was presented with a new telescope by a group of American women in recognition of her achievement.

That same year, she was the first woman elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1850 she was the first woman to join the American Association for the Advancement of Science. And in 1869, the American Philosophical Society opened its doors to women, electing Maria Mitchell along with Mary Somerville, astronomer and mathematician, and Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, naturalist.

Not content to simply do her own research, she wanted to improve the opportunities for other women to study science as well. In 1865, she was the first person appointed to the faculty in the newly developed Astronomy Department at Vassar College, where she also served as the director of the Vassar College Observatory.

Later in life, continuing her push to include more women in the sciences, she co-founded the American Association for the Advancement of Women (AAW), where she served as president in 1875, and founded and chaired its Science Committee.

"Does anyone suppose that any woman in all the ages has had a fair chance to show what she could do in science? ... The laws of nature are not discovered by accidents; theories do not come by chance, even to the greatest minds; they are not born of the hurry and worry of daily toil; they are diligently sought, they are patiently waited for, they are received with cautious reserve, they are accepted with reverence and awe. And until able women have given their lives to investigation, it is idle to discuss the question of their capacity for original work."
"The Need for Women in Science," presented by Maria Mitchell at the 1876 Congress of the AAW.

Indeed. Just think what could women achieve in science if given a fair chance! While I'm sure Maria Mitchell would be absolutely thrilled to see how much things have changed for women in science in the last 141 years, I'm sure she would join with us in demanding even greater representation.

I can't do the work of SRPS without your your support!
If you like what you read here, please share this post with your friends.

Read More