Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell - Softcover

Helen Wright; Debra Meloy Elmegreen; Frederick R. Chromey

9781883551438: Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1883551439 ISBN 13: 9781883551438

Publisher: Attic Studio Pr, 1997

SWEEPER IN THE SKY is the biography of Maria Mitchell, the first woman astronomer in the U.S. At the age of 28, Mitchell discovered a comet in 1847 and was awarded a gold medal by the King of Denmark for her discovery. When Vassar College opened in 1865, Mitchell became its first astronomy professor and observatory director. For 23 years, Mitchell presided over a rigorous astronomy program at Vassar College. She gained national fame as a pioneering teacher, noted for her progressive ideas and her emphasis on the importance of research. In subsequent years, more than two dozen of her students were featured in "Who's Who in America." Mitchell served as a founder and president of the Association for the Advancement of Women.

This special commemorative edition of SWEEPER IN THE SKY -- marking the 150th Anniversary of Maria Mitchell's discovery of a comet, as well as the opening of the Class of 1951 Observatory at Vassar College -- features an unabridged reprint of Helen Wright's classic 1949 biography, plus archival photographs, a new preface and epilogue by Vassar astronomy professors, and a new "For Further Exploration" section, including related web sites on the Internet.

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About the Author:

Helen Wright (1914-1997) was born in Washington, DC and was educated there and in London and Lausanne, Switzerland. She attended Bennett Junior College, and holds two degrees from Vassar College. She served as an assistant in the Astronomy Department at Vassar, and later worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory and at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. She authored numerous books and articles on astromony.

Review:

SWEEPER IN THE SKY, notes Smithsonian curator David DeVorkin, "is a classic work about a pioneer American astronomer by a pioneer historian of American astronomy."

Vassar historian Elizabeth Daniels writes that the book "will renew interest in this quintessentially modern woman, who was easily 100 years ahead of her time."

"Maria Mitchell," observes Curator Mara Alper, "was gifted with a singular driving vision that led her through uncharted realms in astronomy and society."

Writes Vassar astronomy professor Debra Meloy Elmegreen: "Helen Wright has captured the excitment of astronomy and passed it on to new generations of astronomy enthusiasts in her stimulating book." -- Book Description

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