Maria Mitchell: Astronomer (women In Science)

Maria Mitchell Astronomer Women in Science Rachel Carson Author/Ecologist Dian Fossey Primatologist Jane Goodall Primatologist/Naturalist Maria Goeppert Mayer Physicist Barbara McClintock Geneticist Maria Mitchell Astronomer Maria Mitchell Astronomer Dale Anderson CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS VP, NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION Kim Shinners CREATIVE MANAGER Takeshi Takahashi MANUFACTURING MANAGER Diann Grasse Staff for MARIA MITCHELL EDITOR Patrick M. N. Stone PRODUCTION EDITOR Jaimie Winkler PHOTO EDITOR Sarah Bloom SERIES & COVER DESIGNER Terry Mallon LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications, Inc. ©2003 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary of Haights Cross Communications. All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States of America. http://www.chelseahouse.com First Printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Anderson, Dale, 1953Maria Mitchell / Dale Anderson. p. cm.—(Women in science) Includes index. Summary: Profiles a Vassar professor who was one of the most famous astronomers in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century and whose central message to her students was “never cease to wonder.” ISBN 0-7910-7249-5 1. Mitchell, Maria, 1818–1889—Juvenile literature. 2. Astronomers— United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. [1. Mitchell, Maria, 1818–1889. 2. Astronomers. 3. Scientists. 4. Women—Biography.] I. Title. II. Women in science (Chelsea House Publishers) III. Series. QB36.M7 A64 2002 520'.92—dc21 2002013738 Table of Contents Introduction Jill Sideman, Ph.D. 6 1. Watching the Sun Disappear 12 2. A Child of Nantucket: 1818 –1835 20 3. Teaching and Learning: 1835 –1847 28 4. Earning a Medal: 1847–1855 44 5. Expanding the Horizon: 1855 –1861 54 6. Mitchell as Professor: 1862 –1869 68 7. Carrying the Torch for Women: 1869 –1876 80 8. The Force of Personal Character 92 Chronology 100 Bibliography 102 Further Reading 103 Index 105 Introduction Jill Sideman, Ph.D. President, Association for Women in Science I am honored to introduce WOMEN IN SCIENCE, a continuing series of books about great women who pursued their interests in various scientific fields, often in the face of barriers erected by the societies in which they lived, and who have won the highest accolades for their achievements. I myself have been a scientist for well over 40 years and am at present the president of the Association for Women in Science, a national organization formed over 30 years ago to support women in choosing and advancing in scientific careers. I am actively engaged in environmental science as a vice president of a very large engineering firm that has offices all around the world. I work with many different types of scientists and engineers from all sorts of countries and cultures. I have been able to observe myself the difficulties that many girls and women face in becoming active scientists, and how they overcome those difficulties. The women scientists who are the subject of this series undoubtedly experienced both the great excitement of scientific discovery and the often blatant discrimination and discouragement offered by society in general and during their elementary, high school, and college education in particular. Many of these women grew up in the United States during the twentieth centur