Maria Mitchell Essay - 1497 Words

This paper will discuss the life of Maria Mitchell and how she became the first woman astronomer in the United States. It will tell of where she grew up. How she climbed the ranks to achieve her goals and how she came into discovering her true passion of astronomy. By describing the events that made this courageous woman, we can see clearly how she set an example for her gender in the Nineteenth century. Women have always been at the forefronts of science, even though they have not always taken the credit for it. One of the defining marks of humanity is our ability to affect and predict our environment. Science - the creation of structure for our world - technology - the use of structure in our world - and mathematics - the common†¦show more content†¦She had â€Å"memorized the sky and was sure of her observation.† (Gromley p.55) This was the great discovery that her constant vigilance brought into the open, as she saw a comet of unknown origin. It occurred to her that this might be a comet. Maria recorded the presumed comets coordinates. The next night the star moved again. This time she was sure it was a comet. Her father wrote to Professor William Bond at the Harvard University observatory about Marias discovery. Professor Bond submitted Marias name to the king of Denmark who had offered a gold medal to a person who discovers a comet seen only through a telescope. Another person, â€Å"Father Francesco de Vico of Rome discovered the same comet two days later† (Mitchell p.105) than Maria Mitchell and the decision was made to award him the prize before news of Marias earlier discovery arrived in Europe. After some negotiations Maria Mitchell was awarded the medal for this discovery a year later. The comet was named Miss Mitchells Comet. She continued working as a librarian, but now she was also receiving letters of congratulations from scientists and tourists were coming to take a look at the woman astronomer. In 1848 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences voted her the first woman member. The Association for the Advancement of Science did the same in 1850. In 1849 she was offered a job by the U.S. Nautical Almanac Office as a computer (one who does computations) ofShow MoreRelatedMaria Mitchell s Views On Women1143 Words   |  5 PagesMaria strongly supported female education. Maria believed that men and women are equal, and should be treated that way. Maria Mitchell grew up in a Quaker family, and they believe in education for both genders. So, Maria’s parents also strongly supported equal education. Maria’s father worked at a school, and then founded his own school. Maria Mitchell wanted to prove to women that their gender doesn’t stop them. She never used the excuse that she was a woman , and never assumed that she was not capableRead MoreGenre and Gender in Popular Film Essay1170 Words   |  5 PagesConversely, in the Western genre, the Hero ( again usually male ) typically represents an idealistic image- selfless - considerate of those less fortunate or more vulnerable than himself. This would usually include all other characters within the text ( Mitchell,1996. p.108 ). The existence of a gendered relationship in a film must also evidence conflict if it is to represent the qualities of such conflict to an audience, bounded by the point at which the relevant behavior is initiated and the pointRead MoreFemale Hysteria Essay1046 Words   |  5 Pagesneurologists Sigmund Freud and American physician and writer Silas Weir Mitchell. For example, in accordance to author Maria Helena Rowell’s â€Å"Hysteria† article, Freud began his research of mechanism that were involved in the treatment of hysteria during the end of the 19th century and developed a theory that hysteria was caused by repressed, emotionally charged, and genuinely unpleasant memories. During the year of 1892, Mitchell examined the narrator character in American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman’sRead More Orphans in Nineteenth-Century England Essay1467 Words   |  6 Pagestuberculosis, which greatly affected the poor and working classes in the busy factory towns. The most common fate of orphaned children was to be adopted by another family. This allowed for the orphans to remain a part of a family unit. As Sally Mitchell states, English law had no provision for legal adoption until the 1920s. Orphaned or deserted children were informally adopted; a friend or relative or neighbor simply took them in. Unofficial fostering was also fairly common: among families ofRead MoreNegative Impacts Of Gentrification On The Economy1403 Words   |  6 PagesSun-Times columnist, Mary Mitchell  notes, I grew up in the hood, but I can t go back to the hood today, Mitchell noted. I can t afford the housing there. It all boils down to a land grab on part of builders and developers fueled by their urges to make as much money as they can. This is about class as much as any racial component; the same thing is happening to white people all along the Lake Shore, especially in neighborhoods like Lake View† (Minnis). Mitchell can’t visit the place whe reRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel For Whom The Bell Tolls 1782 Words   |  8 PagesCivil War. He believes when first arriving that he his fighting for the right cause, only to realize he’s being disillusioned by Spanish leaders. As the story progresses, so does Robert’s unlikely relationship with guerilla fighters and his beloved Maria. The story of Robert Jordan’s life has great correlation to that of Hemingway’s. Robert Jordan’s experiences from beginning to end, illustrate the corruptions in war. In the case of the Spanish War, there were no positive outcomes or issues resolvedRead MoreSaving Feminism : Fight Segregation860 Words   |  4 Pageseven though there are discrepancies between white feminists and feminists of color, a united, single feminist movement is possible in order to have a stronger movement and achieve the goals feminism aims for. In a question-answer session with Pat Mitchell published in TED, Madeleine Albright, who was t he first American female Secretary of State, said: â€Å"There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women. That is what feminism should be about: support. But support is useless whenRead MoreLemon Battery686 Words   |  3 Pagesat Marcussen Mastering THANKS TO: Adrian Amodeo, Russell Arons, Pete Axelrad, Maria Belli, Ed Boon, Paul Broucek, Rich Carle, Rocco Carrozza, Irene Chan, Cà ©leigh Chapman, Andrew Cook, Rigo Cortes, Jamal Dauda, Craig Degraff, Brett Fischer, Dan Forden, Matthew Geyer, Sharis Gharibi, Kristy Gibson, Brian Goodman, Darin Harmon, Shaun Himmerick, Rich Holtzman, Joe Kara, Edward Lin, Lisa Margolis, Joel Mark, Craig Mitchell, Genevieve Morris, Vince Quintero, Kehau Rodenhurst, Kieran Roy, Philip Ser, MookieRead MoreA Satirical Expedition in Charles Dickens Great Expectations698 Words   |  3 PagesDickens foreshadowed this revelation through his uses of satire at climax. â€Å"Yes, Pip, I’ve made a gentleman on you!† (319) Works Cited Dickens, Charles, and Charlotte Mitchell. Great expectations. Repr. with updated further reading, revised Dickens Chronology and new appendix ed. London: Penguin, 2003. Print. Ioannou, Maria. [S]imply because I found her irresistible: female erotic power and feminism in Great Expectations. Dickens Quarterly 29.2 (2012): 142+. Literature Resource Center. WebRead MoreThe Impact Of Social Media On Interpersonal Communication1545 Words   |  7 Pagesmuch time one spends on social media, but rather the motivation behind time spent on social media that is a predictor of involvement in online aggression among adolescents (Young, Len-Rios, Young, 2017). A recent study conducted by Rachel Young, Maria Lens-Rios and Henry Young revealed that it’s not how often adolescents are going online, but the reasons or motivation for going online that predict the likelihood of experiencing online aggression either as the victim or the perpetrator. Romantic