Maria Mitchell was born the third of ten children in Nantucket in
1818. Her mother was a librarian and her father a schoolteacher and amateur astronomer.
Both her parents were Quakers who believed in educating their daughters as well
as their sons. Nantucket was a tiny island whose economy relied on whaling;
most of the men would be away for months at a time. Maria grew up with many
strong, independent women as role models. Her father taught her to use chronometers,
sextants, and telescopes. When she was 29, Maria discovered a comet using a
two-inch telescope. She was awarded a gold medal by the king of Denmark, and became
the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of
the craters on the moon is named for Maria Mitchell. She’s quoted as saying, “When
we are chafed and fretted by small cares, a look at the stars will show us the
littleness of our own interests.”
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