Maria Mitchell Biography

                Maria Mitchell was born on August 1, 1818 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and lived until 1889. The third of ten children, Maria was a member of a strongly Quaker family, which would prove to have a large impact on her life. Although she never received a formal education, the importance placed by the Quakers on education meant that Maria was taught by her father on a variety of topics, including astronomy and mathematics, and that she ultimately received an education on par with that of a contemporary man's. It was because of her father's influence that Mitchell was instilled at an early age with a passion for astronomy; in addition to receiving his instruction, she would often help him to take observations on his multiple telescopes. After a brief attempt at opening a school, Mitchell found work as a librarian at the Nantucket Athenaeum Library, where she often took observations of the night sky on the side.

                Maria Mitchell made many accomplishments, and is most largely considered to be most important for legitimizing the role of women in astronomy. One of her most notable accomplishments was the discovery of a new comet, which she entitled the comet Miss Mitchell's Comet. As the first woman to discover a comet, her achievement brought her international fame and recognition; for the discovery she was awarded a gold medal by the king of Denmark (who had offered a prize to anyone who could discover a comet using a telescope). The next year she was elected as an honorary member to the American Academy of Arts and Science, and was the first woman to receive the honor. Mitchell was also elected to or joined, often as the first women, the American Philosophical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Women, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

                Maria Mitchell's final post was at Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York. She worked initially as the director of the observatory, and then later as a professor of Astronomy (the first of her gender).  At Vassar College Mitchell had access to a variety of impressive astronomical tools which she had previously been excluded from using, and continued her research on Jupiter, Saturn and the photography of stars. Mitchell was forced to retire in 1888 because of her failing health, and died soon after on June 28, 1889 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Her legacy lives on, however; she was elected to both the Hall of Fame of Great Americans and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1905 and 1954, respectively, and was the namesake for the Maria Mitchell Association, made after her death in 1902.