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Henrietta Swan LeavittAmerican astronomer
Date of Birth: 04.07.1868
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Biography of Henrietta Swan Leavitt
- Early Career
- Contributions to Astronomy
- The Discovery of Cepheid Variables
- Legacy and Recognition
Biography of Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Early Life and EducationHenrietta Swan Leavitt, daughter of Congregationalist minister George Roswell Leavitt and his wife Henrietta Swan Kendrick, was born on July 4, 1868, in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Her father was a descendant of English Puritan tailor Deacon John Leavitt, who settled in the Massachusetts Colony in the early 17th century. When Henrietta was a child, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Oberlin College, which was the first American higher education institution to open its doors to women and black students. In 1892, she graduated with a bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College, then known as the Society for the Collegiate Instruction for Women.
Early Career
Initially, Henrietta had no interest in astronomy and only discovered her passion during her final year in college. She excelled in her exams and made astronomy the topic of her thesis. After graduating, she embarked on a journey across America and Europe, during which she fell seriously ill and almost completely lost her hearing. Three years after her graduation, she volunteered to be a research assistant at the Harvard College Observatory, without receiving any pay. It was not until 1902 that she was hired as a regular employee by Professor Edward Charles Pickering, the director of the observatory.
Contributions to Astronomy
Henrietta's primary responsibility at the observatory was the care of the telescopes and the department of photographic photometry. At that time, there was no unified standard for determining stellar magnitudes. While studying the observatory's collection of photographic plates to determine the magnitude of stars, Leavitt developed a system that quickly gained acceptance by the international scientific community. In 1913, her standard, known as the Harvard system, was adopted by the International Commission on Photographic Magnitudes.
The Discovery of Cepheid Variables
During her work with photographic plates, Leavitt made a groundbreaking discovery. She noticed a pattern between the period and brightness of certain stars known as Cepheid variables. This relationship, known as the period-luminosity relationship, revolutionized the field of modern astronomy. However, Leavitt did not receive recognition for her discovery during her lifetime. It was only after her death that astronomer Edwin Hubble credited her work and frequently stated that she deserved a Nobel Prize.
Legacy and Recognition
Henrietta Swan Leavitt passed away on December 21, 1921, from cancer and was buried in the family plot at a cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her work led to the discovery of over 1,200 variable stars, half of all known objects of this kind at the time of her death. She was also a member of various organizations and an advocate for women in astronomy. Leavitt's contributions to the field of astronomy and our understanding of our place in the universe are monumental. She was honored by having an asteroid and a crater on the moon named after her.
