Maria Mitchell
First American woman astronomer
American astronomer and educator (1818-1889).
Quaker upbringing in Nantucket gave her access to her father's telescope and equal expectations — by 12 she was calculating eclipse timings. In 1847 she swept the sky from her rooftop and discovered a comet (later called 'Miss Mitchell's Comet'), winning a gold medal from the King of Denmark. Became the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar and an outspoken advocate for women in science.
Famous for
- Discovered comet C/1847 T1 ('Miss Mitchell's Comet')
- First female member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Vassar College astronomy professor
- Founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Women
In Rubicon
Maria Mitchell is one of the historical characters you can play as in Rubicon, a trivia game where you answer in your own words and an AI judge reads what you meant. Maria Mitchell is filed under Earth & Space, and is strongest at Earth & Space and Natural Sciences.
Others in Earth & Space
- Claudius Ptolemy — Ancient astronomer + geographer
- Caroline Herschel — First paid female astronomer
- Tycho Brahe — Master of the naked-eye sky
- Eratosthenes of Cyrene — Measured the Earth
- Annie Jump Cannon — Classified the stars