Margaret Mayall
Margaret Walton Mayall (January 27, 1902 – December 6, 1995) was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973.[1]
Margaret Mayall | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 27, 1902 Iron Hill, Maryland, US |
| Died | December 6, 1995 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Swarthmore College |
| Alma mater | Swarthmore College Radcliffe College (M.A.) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Early life and education Edit
Mayall (born Margaret Lyle Walton) was born in Iron Hill, Maryland, on 27 January 1902.[1] She attended the University of Delaware, where her interest in astronomy grew after taking math and chemistry courses.[2] She then moved to Swarthmore College, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics in 1924.[3]
She earned an MA in Astronomy from Radcliffe College, Harvard University, in 1928 and worked as a research assistant and astronomer at Harvard College Observatory from 1924 to 1954, initially working with Annie Jump Cannon on classifying star spectra and estimating star brightness.[3] She was a research staff member at the Heat Research Laboratory, Special Weapons Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1943 to 1946.[4]
Personal life Edit
While working in Nantucket, she met Robert Newton Mayall, a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). They married in 1927.[1]
She died of congestive heart failure in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 6 December 1995.[1]
Awards Edit
In 1958 she won the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy.[1]
References Edit
- ^ a b c d e . aas.org. American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
- ^ "Halley's Comet & Northern Lights Stimulated Interest in Astronomy for a Young Lady From Iron Hill". Window on Cecil County's Past. January 16, 2015. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
- ^ a b Notick, Samantha (2022). . Wolbach Library. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
- ^ Saladyga, Michael. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (PDF). p. 751.
Further reading Edit
- Williams, Thomas R.; Saladyga, Michael (2011). Advancing Variable Star Astronomy: The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-49634-6.
External links Edit
- Letters at the AAVSO
- Oral history interview with Margaret Mayall on 11 August 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session I
- Oral history interview with Margaret Mayall on 12 September 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session II
- The Harold C. Ernst Collection of Portable Sundials