Maria Mitchell Research Paper

Maria Mitchell was an educator, a feminist, and perhaps most notably, the first female to work as a professional astronomer in the United States. She gained fame in 1847 when she excused herself from a dinner party to survey the sky using her father’s telescope, and discovered a comet. This comet became known as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” and won her a gold medal which was presented to her by the Danish government (Mitchell 1889, 331-343).
Mitchell was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts to Quaker parents. She was born into a community which was rather progressive for its time, in regard to women’s rights. Like other Quakers, Maria’s parents valued education and insisted on giving her opportunities equal to that of a male. Her father, also an educator and scientist, was especially encouraging in Maria’s educational endeavors, making her a teaching assistant in his classes and teaching her astronomy using his telescope. After finishing school, she accepted a job in 1836 as the first librarian of the Nantucket Athenaeum, where she would work for 20 years (Mitchell 2003, ch 1). …show more content…
Italian astronomer Frencesco de Vico, independently found the same comet two days later than Maria. He reported it to the European scientific community first, as Maria had been hesitant and uncertain, resulting in some uncertainty about the identity of the first discoverer. With the reinforcement of her father, however, the matter was resolved in Maria’s favor and she received credit for her work, making her the first American astronomer to be acknowledged by the European scientific community for an original discovery. Her discovery was important around the world and was celebrated at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention for Women’s Rights (Mitchell, 2003 ch