Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889
Maria Mitchell letters, ca. 1846-1868.
Collection comprises three manuscript notes by Mitchell. The first, written while Mitchell was the librarian at the Nantucket Atheneum, is addressed to a Mrs. Greene regarding a John Quincy Adams letter Mitchell has forwarded to her "at Phebe's request" for her autograph business. The second, written while Mitchell was teaching at Vassar College, is addressed to a Mrs. Burner asking for letters of recommendation to a number of people in London. The third, dated 1877, to a Miss Ladd, sends her regrets for not being able to speak at the Harvard School commencement.
Maria Mitchell was a pioneering American astronomer. A Nantucket native, Mitchell worked from 1836-1856 as the first librarian at the Nantucket Atheneum, during which time she discovered "Miss Mitchell's Comet." In 1865, she was appointed the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College, where she worked until her retirement. Michell also identified with the abolition and women's rights movements. She was the first woman elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Philosophical Society.
Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889
Vassar College
Astronomers
Women in science
Nantucket (Mass.)
AIP-ICOS
Duke University. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. P.O. Box 90185, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, USA