Women contributed to the advancement of astronomy and astrophysics at Yerkes Observatory in the early twentieth century. Women were not only calculators or assistants. They earned degrees, conducted their own research, collaborated on projects with peers of both sexes, worked on publications, and used their time at Yerkes to launch a wide range of careers. Their lives and labor are all but invisible in public records, but their contributions to science—and their voices—are preserved in the University of Chicago’s Special Collections Research Center. This exhibit draws upon library materials to tell the stories of just some of the more than 120 women identified in the University’s archival record by an interdisciplinary research team of astronomers, librarians, and historians.
Join us as we learn more about the scientific work and the lived experiences of women who contributed to the advancement of astronomy and astrophysics in early twentieth century America.
- Learn how the women of Yerkes Observatory contributed to the advancement of astronomy and astrophysics
- Discover why Yerkes Observatory was a uniquely welcoming place for women in early twentieth-century America
- See the essential ways that all labor at Yerkes Observatory contributed to science
