Mary Watson WhitneyDied 20 Jan 1921 at age 73 (born 11 Sep 1847). American astronomer who trained with Maria Mitchell and succeeded her as professor and director of the Vassar College Observatory. As Mitchell had before her, Whitney championed science education the advancement of professional opportunities for women. She developed the astronomy department. Four years before her 1910 retirement, there were 160 students and eight different astronomy courses, including some of the first courses anywhere on astrophysics and on variable stars. During her tenure as director, the Observatory staff published 102 papers in major astronomical journals reporting their work on comets, asteroids, and variable stars. From 1896, photographic plates were used to study and measure star clusters.«[Image: Whitney leaning on ladder under the equatorial telescope in the Observatory dome of Vassar College, circa 1889] |
