Maria Mitchell (1818–89) was an American astronomer. She established the orbit of a newly discovered comet in 1847 and became the first woman elected 1848 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Born on the remote whaling station of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Mitchell had a Quaker upbringing, where her scientific interests were encouraged by her schoolmaster father. Mitchell worked as a librarian on the island while observing the skies at night.
At age 29, Mitchell established the orbit of a new comet, which became known as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet.” Three years later, she was elected the first woman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Maria then toured all the great observatories of Europe.
Mitchell’s first professional commission was the computing of tables of the planet Venus for the American Ephemerides and Nautical Almanac, a duty she performed for 20 years (1849–68.) She was a professor of astronomy 1865–88 at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Maria Mitchell
People have to learn sometimes not only how much the heart, but how much the head, can bear.
—Maria Mitchell
Topics: Endurance
When we are chafed and fretted by small cares, a look at the stars will show us the littleness of our own interests.
—Maria Mitchell
Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
—Maria Mitchell
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