Elizabeth Brown (astronomer)
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Elizabeth Brown (6 August 1830 – 5 March 1899)[1] was a British astronomer who specialized in solar observation, especially sunspots and solar eclipses.[2][3][4]
She was also instrumental in founding the British Astronomical Association.[5]
Elizabeth was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. Her father, Thomas Brown, introduced her to the telescope,[6] and she began observing sunspots. When her father died at age 91, she was released of domestic and filial duties and began to travel the world to record her observations. She published two books anonymously on her travels.[2]
She joined the Liverpool Astronomical Society following the death of her father in 1883. At this time the society operated as an association of amateur astronomers across Britain, rather than as a merely local organisation. Brown travelled a 140-mile round journey from her home near Cirencester to Liverpool to attend its meetings. She soon afterwards became the director of its Solar Section.[1]
Brown had a central role in organising in 1890 the formation of the British Astronomical Association to coordinate the work of amateur astronomers. She became the Director of the new Association's Solar Section, a post which she held until her death in 1899.[2][3][4] She also contributed to the activities of other observing sections, including the lunar, variable star and coloured star sections.[1]
The British Astronomical Association accepted women as members from its start, unlike the Royal Astronomical Society. Brown was one of three women proposed for fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1892, but all three controversially failed to attract sufficient votes to be elected (the other two were Alice Everett and Annie Russell; similarly, the nomination of Isis Pogson had been rejected in 1886; and the first female fellows were elected in 1915).[1]
Elizabeth Brown travelled widely to seek for solar eclipses, an adventure she describes in her work In Pursuit of a Shadow (1887). The title of the book reveals the influence of the earlier Quaker meteorologist Luke Howard who famously used the phrase to describe his work on clouds. A second set of memoirs, Caught in the Tropics, appeared in 1890.[1] Her work on the daily recording sunspots, including meticulous drawings, earned her a distinguished reputation among the astronomers of her day.
Further reading
- Creese, Mary R. S. (1998). "Elizabeth Brown (1830–1899), Solar Astronomer". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. London: British Astronomical Association. 108 (4): 193–197. Bibcode:1998JBAA..108..193C.
- Creese, Mary R. S. (2004), "Brown, Elizabeth (1830–1899)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Brück, Mary T. (2009). Women in Early British and Irish Astronomy: Stars and Satellites. Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 151–156. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2. ISBN 978-90-481-2472-5.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Creese, Mary R. S. (1998). "Elizabeth Brown (1830–1899), Solar Astronomer". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. London: British Astronomical Association. 108 (4): 193–197. Bibcode:1998JBAA..108..193C.
- 1 2 3 The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to mid-20th Century. Ogilvie, M. & Harvey, Joy., Editors. P.189. Consulted on 19-10-2012.
- 1 2 "In Memoriam, Elizabeth Brown, F.R.Met.Soc.". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. London: British Astronomical Association. 9 (5): 214–215. 1899. Bibcode:1899JBAA....9..214.
- 1 2 "Obituary.– Miss E. Brown". The Observatory. London: The Editors of The Observatory. 22: 171–172. April 1899. Bibcode:1899Obs....22..169.
- ↑ Elizabeth Brown, English Astronomer. Science Photo Library. Consulted on 19-10-2012.
- ↑ Elizabeth Brown (1830–1899). Quakers in Britain. Consulted on 19-10-2012.