Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall (November 1, 1830 – July 3, 1892) was an American mathematician and suffragist who was the wife of

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

Asaph Hall Asaph Hall III (October 15, 1829 – November 22, 1907) was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877. He determined the orbits of satellites of other planets and of double ...

. Stickney Hall was an active participant in her husband's search for the

moons of Mars The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos (fear and panic) and Deimos ( ...

, performing mathematical calculations on the data he collected.

Early life

Angeline Stickney was born to Theophilus Stickney and Electa Cook on November 1, 1830. In 1847 she took three terms of study funded by her cousin, Harriette Downs, at Rodman Union Seminary. Stickney was able to attend

New-York Central College New York Central College, commonly called New York Central College, McGrawville, and simply Central College, was the first college in the United States founded on the principle that all qualified students were welcome. It was thus an abolitionist ...

with help from her sister Ruth and by teaching at the college. She majored in science and mathematics, doing coursework in calculus and mathematical astronomy, and graduated with the college's first class, in 1855. New-York Central College was a progressive school where students of modest means, including women and free African Americans, could earn a college degree. It was here that she became passionate about the causes of women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery. Angeline Stickney and

met at Central College. Stickney was two years ahead of Hall. She was his instructor in geometry and German. During their days together as teacher and student, Hall and his classmates would devise questions and problems that they were convinced Stickney could not solve, yet she reportedly never failed to solve them.

Marriage and astronomy

Stickney and Hall married in

Elkhorn, Wisconsin Elkhorn is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located southwest of Milwaukee. As of the 2020 census, it was home to 10,247 people, up from 10,084 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. Geography Elkhorn is located ...

, on March 31, 1856. As was common at the time, she had to give up her academic career after the wedding. Immediately after the wedding, the couple moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, so that Hall could continue his education at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Three months later, they moved to

Shalersville, Ohio Shalersville Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census found 5,670 people in the township. Geography Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following other townsh ...

. It was Stickney who communicated with her husband's employer, Captain Gillis, and successfully suggested that he should be made a professor at the Naval Observatory. The Angeline and Asaph Hall house

She encouraged him to continue his search for

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

s of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

when he was ready to give up, and he successfully discovered the moons Phobos and

Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to: * Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology * Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites * Elecnor Deimos, a Spanish aerospace company * ...

. However, when she asked for payment equal to a man's salary for her calculations, Asaph refused, so Angeline then discontinued her work.

Personal life

Hall home-schooled all four of her children, and all attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Her third son, Angelo Hall, a

Unitarian Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present ...

minister, wrote her biography. Her oldest son,

Asaph Hall, Jr. Asaph Hall IV (October 6, 1859 – January 12, 1930), known as Asaph Hall Jr., was an American astronomer. He was the son of Asaph Hall, who discovered the moons of the planet Mars. One of his brothers was Percival Hall. Early life and educati ...

, was born on October 6, 1859, and served as director of the

Detroit Observatory The Detroit Observatory is located on the corner of Observatory and Ann streets in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was built in 1854, and was the first scientific research facility at the University of Michigan and one of the oldest observatories of its ty ...

from 1892 to 1905. Other sons were named Samuel (second son) and Percival (fourth son);

Percival Hall Percival Hall (September 16, 1872 – November 7, 1953)
was the second president of

(1872–1953) was the second president of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the firs ...

from 1910 to 1946 (he himself was not deaf). She died at

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

, at age 61. The largest crater on Phobos,

Stickney Crater Stickney is the largest crater on Phobos, which is a satellite of Mars. It is in diameter, taking up a substantial proportion of the moon's surface. Naming The crater is named after mathematician Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, the wife of Ph ...

, is named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stickney, Angeline 1830 births 1892 deaths People associated with astronomy American suffragists American abolitionists 19th-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians 19th-century American women scientists People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) New York Central College faculty New York Central College alumni Women civil rights activists

Early life

Marriage and astronomy

Personal life

Further reading

References