MARIA MITCHELLMARIA MITCHELL(1818-1889)"On the cultivation of women's minds depends the wisdom of men."—Richard Brinsley SheridanMaria Mitchell was born on the Island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, August 1, 1818, and to-day if you go there, you may see a monument erected to her memory.Her ancestors were Quakers who had fled hither from Massachusetts because of religious persecution. Nantucket Island then belonged to New York State, and here these good people were free to worship God as they pleased. Almost all of the inhabitants of the Island belonged to the Society of Friends, from which sect have sprung many of our notable men and women, among them John G. Whittier, "the Quaker Poet," who all his life wore the Quaker garb and spoke the language of that religious society.The Mitchell family were not very strict; that is, they did not wear the plain clothes of the sect, although they probably used the "thee" and "thou." Maria's mother was a woman of great strength of character. Her father was a kindly gentleman, whose affection for his children was so great that he could refuse them nothing. Often Mrs. Mitchell was obliged to check him, fearing they would be spoiled by his indulgence.The little girls were brought up to be industrious. They learned to make their own clothes by making those of their dolls, and frequently they made their own dolls, too, the eldest sister painting the faces.Maria received the first rudiments of her education from her mother and an excellent woman teacher, but not until she entered her father's school, at the age of eleven, did she begin to show marked ability as a student.Mr. Mitchell was greatly interested in the study of astronomy, and owned a small telescope, which he used to examine the heavens at night. Maria was especially fond of her father's pursuit. She also had a taste for mathematics, without which astronomy as a science cannot be mastered, and she watched, patient and absorbed, when her father would compute distances by means of his scientific instruments.There was no school in the country where Maria Mitchell could be taught higher mathematics, so she continued to study with her father.Every fine night the telescope was placed in Mr. Mitchell's back yard, and the neighbors would come in to gaze through it at the moon and the planets. Little Maria was always on hand listening for scraps of information.In 1831, and while Maria was still a child, there occurred a total eclipse of the sun at Nantucket. With her father, Maria observed this eclipse through a new Dolland telescope which had been recently purchased and, for the first time in her life, counted the seconds of the eclipse. At that time she was studying with Mr. Cyrus Pierce, who took a great interest in her, and who helped her in her mathematics.At the age of sixteen she left school, becoming for a while an assistant teacher, but she soon gave up teaching to accept the new position of librarian in the Nantucket Atheneum. This post she continued to fill for twenty years. She had much time while acting as a librarian to study her favorite subject, and she used the opportunity to advantage.Every evening Miss Mitchell spent on the housetop "sweeping" the heavens. One memorable evening, October 1, 1847, she had put on her old clothes and taken her lantern to the roof as usual. After gazing through her telescope for a few minutes, she observed an object which she concluded must be a comet. Hurriedly she called her father, who also examined the unusual body in the heavens and agreed with her that it was a comet.He immediately announced the discovery to Professor Bond of Cambridge. It was learned afterward that the same comet had been seen in Rome by an astronomer on October 3, and in England by another on October 7, and still later in Germany. To Maria Mitchell was given the credit of the first discovery, and she received the gold medal which had been promised by the King of Denmark to the first discoverer of a telescopic comet. This brought her letters of congratulation from astronomers in all parts of the world.Miss Mitchell had always had a desire to travel abroad, and as her tastes were simple she soon saved enough from her small salary to enable her to do so. During her visits in foreign countries, she met many eminent scientists, among them Herschel, Airy, Mrs. Somerville, and Humboldt. The plain Nantucket lady was perfectly at home in the society of thesedistinguished people, whose tastes and occupations were similar to her own. They all opened their observatories for her inspection and their homes for social intercourse.The Greenwich Observatory especially interested Miss Mitchell. It stands in Greenwich Park, which comprises a group of hills with many beautiful oak trees which are said to date back to the time of Queen Elizabeth. The observatory was then in charge of Sir George Airy, who showed Miss Mitchell all the treasures of the place, among them the instruments used by the great astronomers Halley, Bradley, and Pond. The meridian of Greenwich is the zero point of longitude for the globe, and you can perhaps imagine the pleasure which Miss Mitchell experienced in being on the spot where time is set for the whole world.Miss Mitchell became Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory at Vassar College, where her work gave the subject a prominence which it has never had in any other woman's college. She was not only a famous astronomer, but a noble, inspiring woman, much interested in the higher education of women and devoting much of her time to advancing this work. Many a young girl can trace the successof her life work to the impulse she received from Maria Mitchell.At the age of sixty-nine Miss Mitchell's health began to fail and she resigned her position in the College, going to live at her home in Lynn, Massachusetts, where she died June 28, 1889.
MARIA MITCHELL
MARIA MITCHELL
MARIA MITCHELL
(1818-1889)
"On the cultivation of women's minds depends the wisdom of men."—Richard Brinsley Sheridan
"On the cultivation of women's minds depends the wisdom of men."
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Maria Mitchell was born on the Island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, August 1, 1818, and to-day if you go there, you may see a monument erected to her memory.
Her ancestors were Quakers who had fled hither from Massachusetts because of religious persecution. Nantucket Island then belonged to New York State, and here these good people were free to worship God as they pleased. Almost all of the inhabitants of the Island belonged to the Society of Friends, from which sect have sprung many of our notable men and women, among them John G. Whittier, "the Quaker Poet," who all his life wore the Quaker garb and spoke the language of that religious society.
The Mitchell family were not very strict; that is, they did not wear the plain clothes of the sect, although they probably used the "thee" and "thou." Maria's mother was a woman of great strength of character. Her father was a kindly gentleman, whose affection for his children was so great that he could refuse them nothing. Often Mrs. Mitchell was obliged to check him, fearing they would be spoiled by his indulgence.
The little girls were brought up to be industrious. They learned to make their own clothes by making those of their dolls, and frequently they made their own dolls, too, the eldest sister painting the faces.
Maria received the first rudiments of her education from her mother and an excellent woman teacher, but not until she entered her father's school, at the age of eleven, did she begin to show marked ability as a student.
Mr. Mitchell was greatly interested in the study of astronomy, and owned a small telescope, which he used to examine the heavens at night. Maria was especially fond of her father's pursuit. She also had a taste for mathematics, without which astronomy as a science cannot be mastered, and she watched, patient and absorbed, when her father would compute distances by means of his scientific instruments.There was no school in the country where Maria Mitchell could be taught higher mathematics, so she continued to study with her father.
Every fine night the telescope was placed in Mr. Mitchell's back yard, and the neighbors would come in to gaze through it at the moon and the planets. Little Maria was always on hand listening for scraps of information.
In 1831, and while Maria was still a child, there occurred a total eclipse of the sun at Nantucket. With her father, Maria observed this eclipse through a new Dolland telescope which had been recently purchased and, for the first time in her life, counted the seconds of the eclipse. At that time she was studying with Mr. Cyrus Pierce, who took a great interest in her, and who helped her in her mathematics.
At the age of sixteen she left school, becoming for a while an assistant teacher, but she soon gave up teaching to accept the new position of librarian in the Nantucket Atheneum. This post she continued to fill for twenty years. She had much time while acting as a librarian to study her favorite subject, and she used the opportunity to advantage.
Every evening Miss Mitchell spent on the housetop "sweeping" the heavens. One memorable evening, October 1, 1847, she had put on her old clothes and taken her lantern to the roof as usual. After gazing through her telescope for a few minutes, she observed an object which she concluded must be a comet. Hurriedly she called her father, who also examined the unusual body in the heavens and agreed with her that it was a comet.
He immediately announced the discovery to Professor Bond of Cambridge. It was learned afterward that the same comet had been seen in Rome by an astronomer on October 3, and in England by another on October 7, and still later in Germany. To Maria Mitchell was given the credit of the first discovery, and she received the gold medal which had been promised by the King of Denmark to the first discoverer of a telescopic comet. This brought her letters of congratulation from astronomers in all parts of the world.
Miss Mitchell had always had a desire to travel abroad, and as her tastes were simple she soon saved enough from her small salary to enable her to do so. During her visits in foreign countries, she met many eminent scientists, among them Herschel, Airy, Mrs. Somerville, and Humboldt. The plain Nantucket lady was perfectly at home in the society of thesedistinguished people, whose tastes and occupations were similar to her own. They all opened their observatories for her inspection and their homes for social intercourse.
The Greenwich Observatory especially interested Miss Mitchell. It stands in Greenwich Park, which comprises a group of hills with many beautiful oak trees which are said to date back to the time of Queen Elizabeth. The observatory was then in charge of Sir George Airy, who showed Miss Mitchell all the treasures of the place, among them the instruments used by the great astronomers Halley, Bradley, and Pond. The meridian of Greenwich is the zero point of longitude for the globe, and you can perhaps imagine the pleasure which Miss Mitchell experienced in being on the spot where time is set for the whole world.
Miss Mitchell became Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory at Vassar College, where her work gave the subject a prominence which it has never had in any other woman's college. She was not only a famous astronomer, but a noble, inspiring woman, much interested in the higher education of women and devoting much of her time to advancing this work. Many a young girl can trace the successof her life work to the impulse she received from Maria Mitchell.
At the age of sixty-nine Miss Mitchell's health began to fail and she resigned her position in the College, going to live at her home in Lynn, Massachusetts, where she died June 28, 1889.