Independent Researchers

While it was common for male astronomers to spend time at observatories while pursuing their own research interests, the same courtesy was rarely extended to women. Yerkes, however, provided women, such as Allie V. Douglas, Frances Lowater, Julia M. Hawkes, and Alice H. Farnsworth, with the opportunity to do astronomical and astrophysical work either for their own edification, as in the case of Hawkes, or as visiting graduate students (Douglas) and researchers (Lowater, Farnsworth). For all four, Yerkes was a space in which they could conduct scientific work when not at their respective universities.