Origins & Early Life

Mary Watson Whitney (September 11, 1847 – January 20, 1921) was an American astronomer and was the head of the Vassar College Observatory for 22 years, where 102 scientific papers were published under her guidance. Whitney was born on September 11, 1847, in Waltham, Massachusetts. Her parents were Mary Watson Crehore and Samuel Buttrick Whitney, a successful real estate businessman who was wealthy enough to provide her with a good education for a woman at the time. She attended school in Waltham, where she reportedly excelled in mathematics, and graduated from the public high school in 1863.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

She was privately tutored for one year before she entered Vassar College in 1865, where she met the astronomer Maria Mitchell. During her time at Vassar College, her father died and her brother was lost at sea. She earned her degree in 1868. From 1869 to 1870, Whitney studied quaternions and celestial mechanics under Benjamin Peirce at Harvard University. Because women were not permitted as students at Harvard at the time, she attended his courses as a guest.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

She also volunteered at the Harvard College Observatory from 1869 to 1870. In 1871 Whitney was made the first...

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