Édmée Marie Juliette Chandon (21 November 1885 – 8 March 1944) was an

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

known for being the first professional female astronomer in France. She worked at the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

from 1908 until her retirement in 1941.

Biography

The eldest of five children, Chandon was born to Marie Duhan and merchant François Chandon on 21 November 1885 in the 11th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In July 1906, she completed her degree in Mathematical Sciences at the . She began working at the

in November 1908 as a trainee, where she met Jacques Jean Trousset after he joined her team in January 1909. They married on 6 April 1910 in

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

but the marriage was short-lived; the pair divorced on 26 April 1911. On 28 February 1912, Chandon was appointed ''aide astronome et attachée'' at the Paris Observatory, effective from 1 March, and the appointment made her the first professional female astronomer in France. ''

L'Aurore ; ) was a literary, liberal, and socialist newspaper published in Paris, France, from 1897 to 1914. Its most famous headline was Émile Zola's ''J'accuse...!'' leading into his article on the Dreyfus Affair. The newspaper was published by Geo ...

'' declared the appointment a "new feminist victory". Chandon represented the Paris Observatory at the Fête du Soleil, organised by the

Société astronomique de France The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the France, French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its ...

, at the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

on 22 June 1914. In March 1930, Chandon defended her thesis "''Research on the tides of the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and the

Gulf of Suez The Gulf of Suez (; formerly , ', "Sea of Calm") is a gulf at the northern end of the Red Sea, to the west of the Sinai Peninsula. Situated to the east of the Sinai Peninsula is the smaller Gulf of Aqaba. The gulf was formed within a relative ...

''", where she shows that the tides of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez are examples of

standing wave In physics, a standing wave, also known as a stationary wave, is a wave that oscillates in time but whose peak amplitude profile does not move in space. The peak amplitude of the wave oscillations at any point in space is constant with respect t ...

s. She retired on 1 October 1941. On 17 May 1943, the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

proposed four candidates to the Minister of National Education for positions as titular astronomers of Paris Observatory, including Chandon. Chandon died at her home in Paris on 8 March 1944. After it was discovered in 1935, asteroid 1341 Edmée was named in her honour.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandon, Édmée 1885 births 1944 deaths French women astronomers 20th-century French astronomers 20th-century French women scientists