InfoGuides: Deaf People in Astronomy and Rocket Science: Annie Jump Cannon

Last Updated: Jan 11, 2024 4:59 PM

Annie Jump Cannon

The picture on the left is in the Public Domain. Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941). "Deaf Maria Mitchell". A pioneer in the astronomy field, her interest in constellations was nurtured by her mother. She attended Wellesley College where she studied the sciences and mathematics and graduated as valedictorian.

She later took up photography studies, taught at Wellesley, and pursued astronomy studies at Radcliffe. She was hired as an assistant at the Harvard College Observatory, one of two Deaf women (Henrietta Swan Leavitt) where she classified more than 350,000 stars, developed a stellar classification system to describe them, discovered new stars, and novas, and curated astronomical photographs.

She won many honors, was the first woman Dean of Astronomers, and the first woman to get an honorary degree from Oxford University. The asteroid, Cannonia and the Cannon lunar crater are named for her.

Sample Book Titles

Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer
Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences
The Glass Universe: how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dava Sobel, the "inspiring" (People), little-known true story of women's landmark contributions to astronomy A New York Times Book Review Notable Book Named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Economist, Smithsonian, Nature, and NPR's Science Friday Nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award "A joy to read." --The Wall Street Journal In the mid-nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or "human computers," to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. At the outset this group included the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but soon the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges--Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The "glass universe" of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades--through the generous support of Mrs. Anna Palmer Draper, the widow of a pioneer in stellar photography--enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and found a way to measure distances across space by starlight. Their ranks included Williamina Fleming, a Scottish woman originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars; Annie Jump Cannon, who designed a stellar classification system that was adopted by astronomers the world over and is still in use; and Dr. Cecilia Helena Payne, who in 1956 became the first ever woman professor of astronomy at Harvard--and Harvard's first female department chair. Elegantly written and enriched by excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs, The Glass Universe is the hidden history of the women whose contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe.
Silent Sky When Henrietta Leavitt (Deaf astronomer) begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn't allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women "computers," charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in "girl hours" and has no time for the women's probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman's place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries when women's ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth. Annie Jump Cannon (Deaf astronomer) is also featured in the play.
Call Number: Drama
Women of Science In the late 1960s, when the current women's movement was beginning to gain its first real momentum, academic women, long subjected to institutionalized subordination, became suddenly and acutely aware of their own inferior status--not only in the hierarchy of academic employment, but also in the hierarchy of recognized intellectual achievement.

Sample Book Titles

American Women Scientists: 23 inspiring biographies, 1900-2000 For most of the 20th century, American women had little encouragement to become scientists. In 1906, there were only 75 female scientists employed by academic institutions in the entire country. Despite considerable barriers, determined women have, however, decidedly distinguished themselves. Three examples of this are: astronomer Annie Jump Cannon, who discovered five novas and over 300 variable stars; mathematician and computer scientist Grace Hopper, who helped to invent the COBOL language; and anaesthesiologist Virginia Apgar who devised the universally used Apgar score to make a rapid evaluation of a newborn's condition just after delivery.
The Madame Curie Complex Why are the fields of science and technology still considered to be the preserve of men? This work moves beyond the common explanations to give historical context and unexpected revelations about women's contributions to the sciences. Exploring the lives of Jane Goodall, Rosalind Franklin and the women of the Manhattan Project among many others, Des Jardins considers their personal stories in relation to their male counterparts to demonstrate how the gendered culture of science molds the methods and experience of the work.
Silence of the Spheres