You will get the interesting information about an American astronomer on Facts about Maria Mitchell. She was born on 1st August 1818 and died on 28th June 1889. Miss Mitchell’s Comet was named after her since she discovered it by using a telescope in 1847. King Frederick VI of Denmark presented her with a gold medal prize due to her discovery. Why don’t you read the whole post below for details about Mitchell?
Facts about Maria Mitchell 1: the gold medal
The gold medal obtained by Mitchell featured Latin inscription. It was said “Non Frustra Signorum Obitus Speculamur et Ortus”.
Facts about Maria Mitchell 2: astronomer
The first woman in America who employed herself as a professional astronomer was Mitchell.
Facts about Maria Mitchell
Facts about Maria Mitchell 3: religion
Mitchell was born in the Quaker family. In the later years, she decided to follow Christian Unitarianism.
Facts about Maria Mitchell 4: the birthplace
The birthplace of Mitchell was located in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Mitchell had nine siblings in the family. Both of her parents were Quakers. They were Lydia Coleman Mitchell and William Mitchell.
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Facts about Maria Mitchell 5: equality
She was encouraged by her parents to obtain education just as boys did. Equality was important in her family.
Maria Mitchell
Facts about Maria Mitchell 6: astronomy
Mitchell was interested with astronomy due to her father. In 1835, she opened her own school after working as a teaching assistant.
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Facts about Maria Mitchell 7: segregation
Even though segregated school was common in United States during her period, she allowed the non-white students to come to her school.
Facts about Maria Mitchell 8: as librarian
For the next 20 years, Mitchell worked as a librarian for Nantucket Athenaeum.
Maria Mitchell Facts
Facts about Maria Mitchell 9: the discovery for a comet
At 10:30 PM on 1st October 1847, she discovered “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” using a telescope.
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Facts about Maria Mitchell 10: the worldwide fame
She earned the worldwide fame due to the discovery. She was one of the astronomers who earned the gold medal prize from the King. Other female astronomers who also discovered a comet included Maria Margarethe Kirch and Caroline Herschel. Christian VIII was the king who presented the prize to her in 1848. In the same year, Mitchell was appointed as the Fellow of American Academy, Arts, and Sciences. She was the first female who earned such as honor. In 1850, she was appointed as a fellow for American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1865, she worked for Vassar College as a professor of astronomy.
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