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Annie Jump Cannon December 11, 1863 - April 13, 1941 |
Anyone who has done any work
in astronomy has heard the phrase "Oh Be A Fine Girl -- Kiss Me." It was an easy way
to learn the spectral classifications of stars and is still in use today. Annie Jump
Cannon perfected the universal system stellar classification we still use today, and compiled
the largest accumulation of astronomical information into the Draper Catalog.
Annie Jump Cannon was born in Dover Delaware on December 11,
1863. She was the eldest of three daughters born to Wilson Cannon and his second wife
Mary Jump. It was Annie's mother who stimulated young Annie's interest in astronomy.
She attended Wellesley College, where she studied physics and astronomy. After
her graduation, she returned to Delaware where her family was residing. After about 10
years, she became impatient and wanted to get back to astronomy. In 1894, Annie Jump
Cannon worked as a junior professor of physics while continuing her astronomy education at
Radcliffe.
In 1896, Annie was hired by William
Pickering of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO), where she began work with Williamina
Paton Stevens Fleming recording, classifying, and cataloging all
stars down to the ninth magnitude. The resulting classification system by temperature was her
concept and has been adopted as the primary means of star classification. More than two
hundred and fifty thousand stars were classified and eventually published in the Draper Catalog.
Annie became the Curator of astronomical photographs of the Harvard College Observatory in
1911, and she finally received a regular Harvard College appointment as professor of astronomy
in 1938. Annie Jump Cannon died in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 13, 1941. Her
life long work in stellar classification has provided an enormous amount of raw data to the
astronomical community as a whole and has forever secured her a place in scientific history.
Awards, Honors, and Associations
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