Maria Mitchell
By Andrew Davis and Mack Hankins
"Non Frustra Signorum Obitus Speculamur et Ortus"
Biography
Place of Birth: Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA
Date of Birth: August 1st, 1818
Parents: Lydia Coleman Mitchell, William Mitchell
Siblings: Phebe, Eliza, Anne, and Sally Mitchell
Education: North Grammar School, Cyrus Peirce's School for Young Ladies
Religious Affiliation: Quaker, then Christian Unitarianism
Place of Death: Lynn, Massachusetts, USA
Date of Death: June 28th, 1889
"We especially need imagination in science. Question everything."
~Maria Mitchell
Maria with her sisters
"Miss Mitchell's Comet" (C/1847 T1)
Maria's home and observatory in Nantucket
Interesting Fact 1
"Miss Mitchell's Comet" was originally invisible to the naked eye, but Maria used a telescope she designed to spot the anomaly in the sky.
Event Information
Mitchell Discovers C/1847 T1
The discovering of this comet is often credited to an Italian of the name of Francesco diVico, but Maria actually discovered what is now known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet" two days before he did.
Mitchell discovered this comet from the roof of the National Pacific Bank on Main Street, where her father worked as a cashier.
When?
Sunday, Aug 1, 1847, 09:00 PM
Where?
61 Main Street, Nantucket, MA
Interesting Fact 2
By discovering this comet, she earned great fame and a gold medal from the King of Denmark. Why? Because she was only the second woman to spot a comet with the naked eye.
Solar Eclipse
At age 12, Maria was able to calculate the location of her home through a solar eclipse.
Whaling Capitol
At age 14, sailors entrusted Maria with navigation calculations for their whaling journeys.
Nantucket’s Atheneum
At age 17, Maria became the first librarian at Nantucket's Atheneum.
Women's Rights
Maria Mitchell is known as the first acknowledged female astronomer in the United States. Which is an important title to own, considering women were not given the right to an education in her time period. Mitchell was also a participant in the founding of the American Association for the Advancement of Women. She was a strong believer in equality in the classroom, and practiced this belief as a college astronomy professor.
Interesting Fact 3
Besides being a woman's rights activist, Mitchell was also the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.