Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889

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Maria Mitchell, astronomer, was born on the island of Nantucket in 1818. Through her father, William Mitchell, she became interested in astronomy and assisted him in his observatory. In the late 1830s she was appointed librarian at the Nantucket Athenaeum, using its collection to educate herself while she worked with her father in the evenings. In 1847 she discovered a new comet, named for her, and was subsequently awarded a gold medal by the King of Denmark. A year later she became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston; in 1850 she was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

At the urging of Matthew Vassar, who was eager to add a woman of considerable stature to his first faculty, Maria Mitchell came to Vassar in 1865, where an observatory with a 12-inch telescope was built for her. The materials in the Vassar collection reflect her twenty-three years at Vassar, where she became one of the college's best and most well-known teachers. During this time, she continued her own research and publication. A founder of the Association for the Advancement of Women, she urged that women's ability in the sciences be recognized and that the scientific method be applied to the solution of social problems. In recognition of her breadth of outlook, Maria Mitchell was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1869, and in 1873 was made a vice-president of the American Social Science Association. Retiring from Vassar in 1888, she went to Lynn, Massachusetts, to work in the small observatory she had built there. She died the next year of "brain disease" and was buried in Nantucket.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Larcom, Lucy, 1824-1893. Letter [manuscript] : Beverly, Mass., to Susan Hayes Ward, 1865 September 4. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Additional papers, 1848-1915 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Caroline Wells Healey Dall letters and autograph [manuscript], 1867 and 1875. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Severance, Caroline M. Seymour (Caroline Maria Seymour), 1820-1914. Papers of Caroline Maria Seymour Severance, 1830-1980 (bulk) 1860-1914. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Brock, Eliza Spencer, 1810-1899. Biographies/Yager collection, 1825-1892. Nantucket Hist Association
creatorOf Maria Mitchell papers, ca. 1825-1887, Circa 1825-1887 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889. Papers, n.d. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867. A. D. Bache Collection, 1833-1873 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Maria Mitchell Collection, 1871 Jan 25 University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
creatorOf Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906. Collection of material pertaining to American women of the 19th and 20th century. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Coffin, James H. (James Henry), 1806-1873. James Henry Coffin Papers, 1848-1884 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Century Company records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary. Correspondence, 1865-1891 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Papers, 1829-1956 (inclusive), 1837-1916 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889. Papers, ca. 1825-1887. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn National Archives And Records Administration. Rg 78: Naval Observatory.
referencedIn Bacon, Delia Salter, 1811-1859. Papers of Delia Salter Bacon [manuscript], 1820-1952 (bulk 1827-1859). Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Ezra Cornell papers, (bulk), 1746-1888, 1844-1870 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
referencedIn Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867. Papers, 1835-1864. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn Murray, Joseph Bradley, 1888-1961,. Joseph Bradley Murray collection, 1706-1958 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Ru 52: Assistant Secretary, Incoming Correspondenc.
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Ru 60: Meteorological Project, 1849 1875.
creatorOf Cone, John Wesley,. Miscellaneous family and personal documents collection, 1852-1870. Lynn Historical Society Library
referencedIn Maria Mitchell Association. Mitchell Memorabilia In Maria Mitchell Lib. (Mf).
referencedIn Maria Mitchell Papers Vassar College
referencedIn Hosmer, Harriet Goodhue, 1830-1908. Additional papers, 1848-1915 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Library Of Congress, Manuscript Division. Naval Observatory Records.
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. William Jones Rhees Collection.
referencedIn Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887. Papers, 1798-1893 (bulk 1827-1887) Houghton Library
creatorOf Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889. Letter to Mr. Alger [manuscript], 1871January 25. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Hemenway, Amy. Collection of autographs, 1791-1873 Houghton Library
referencedIn Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867. Alexander Dallas Bache Papers, 1821-1869 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Papers, 1906-2005 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Blackwell family. Papers, 1784-1944 (bulk: 1832-1939) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn May family. Papers of the May and Goddard families, 1766-1912 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Parrish Family Papers, 1780-1966. Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
referencedIn Joseph Bradley Murray collection, 1706-1958 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Carole Oles, Papers, 1983-2007 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
creatorOf Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889. Letters. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary. Correspondence, 1863-1879 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Severance, Caroline M. Seymour (Caroline Maria Seymour), 1820-1914. Papers, 1830-1980 The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department
referencedIn Blackwell family. Papers, 1784-1944 (bulk: 1832-1939) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers, 1829-1956 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn United States Naval Observatory Records, 1830-1900 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn May family. Papers of the May and Goddard families, 1766-1912 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889. Maria Mitchell letter to Mrs. Millington, ca. 1838-1889. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
referencedIn Papers, 1861-1891. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Clark, Alvan, 1804-1887. Correspondence, 1857-1893. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Papers of Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, 1834-1959 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Clarke, James Freeman, 1810-1888. Additional correspondence, 1787-1886 Houghton Library
creatorOf Cope, E. D. (Edward Drinker), 1840-1897. Papers, 1848-1940 (bulk 1855-1896). Haverford College Library
referencedIn Friends' Social Union (New York, N.Y.). Minutes, 1869-1872. Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
referencedIn Benson J. Lossing papers, 1861-1891. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Maria Mitchell Papers Vassar College
referencedIn New England Women's Club. Records, 1843-1970 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Papers, 1853-1974, 1853-1889 (bulk). New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889. Note of Maria Mitchell, undated. Library of Congress
referencedIn May family. Papers of the May and Goddard families, 1766-1912 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn American Philosophical Society. Alexander Dallas Bache Papers.
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correspondedWith Whitney, Andrew person
associatedWith Whitney, Mary Watson, b. 1847. person
associatedWith Wright, Helen, 1914-1997. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Lynn MA US
Nantucket MA US
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Birth 1818-08-01

Death 1889-06-28

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English

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