Whiting, Sarah Frances, 1847-1927

Sarah Frances Whiting (August 23, 1847 – September 12, 1927), American physicist and astronomer, was the instructor to several astronomers, including Annie Jump Cannon; graduated from Ingham University in 1865; appointed by Wellesley College president Henry Fowle Durant, one year after the College's 1875 opening, as its first professor of physics; attended lectures at MIT given by Edward Charles Pickering. He invited Whiting to observe some of the new techniques being applied to astronomy, such as spectroscopy; 1896 and 1900, Whiting helped Wellesley College trustee Sarah Elizabeth Whitin to establish the Whitin Observatory, of which Whiting became the first director; Tufts College bestowed an honorary doctorate on Whiting in 1905. She was also known for supporting prohibition. Whiting retired from Wellesley in 1916 and was a Professor Emeritus until her death in 1927 in Wilbraham, Massachusetts; wrote textbook Daytime and evening exercises in astronomy, for schools and colleges;