Caroline Ellen Furness (June 24, 1869 – February 9, 1936) was an American astronomer who taught at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in the early twentieth century. She studied under

Mary Watson Whitney Mary Watson Whitney (September 11, 1847 – January 20, 1921) was an American astronomer and was the head of the Vassar College Observatory for 22 years, where 102 scientific papers were published under her guidance. Early life and education ...

at Vassar and was the first woman to earn a PhD in astronomy from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Early life and education

Furness was born on 24 June 1869 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. Her father was a high school science teacher and encouraged her early interest in science. She graduated from Vassar in 1891. Furness worked as a mathematics teacher at West Winsted High School in Connecticut for one year before moving to Columbus, Ohio, where she spent two more years teaching. While living in Columbus, she studied mathematics at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. In 1894, she returned to Vassar as a research assistant for

. Under Whitney she took part in a nearly decade long program of comet and planet observations. She became an instructor of mathematics at Vassar in 1895. With the facilitation of Whitney and financial support from

Catherine Wolfe Bruce Catherine Wolfe Bruce (January 22, 1816, New York – March 13, 1900, New York) was a noted American philanthropist and patron of astronomy. Early life Bruce was born on January 22, 1816. She was the daughter of the George Bruce (1781–1866), ...

and

Frederic Thompson Frederic Williams Thompson (October 31, 1873 – June 6, 1919) was an American architect, engineer, inventor, and showman known for creating amusement rides and one of the first large amusement parks. Biography Frederic Thompson was born i ...

, she began working at Columbia University under Harold Jacoby in 1896 and would publish her Ph.D. dissertation "Catalogue of stars within one degree of the North pole and optical distortion of the Helsingfors astro-photographic telescope deduced from photographic measures" there in 1900.

Professional career

In 1903 she returned to Vassar as an instructor. In 1911 she was promoted to the position of associate professor in astronomy. From 1901 to 1912 she was the editor of ''Observations of Variable Stars Made at Vassar College''.Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey, and Joy Dorothy Harvey. ''The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century''. New York: Routledge, 2000, 479. She collaborated on

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes systematically with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are ...

observations with Whitney from 1909 to 1911. In 1910, when Whitney began a leave of absence for illness, Furness became chair of the astronomy department and took over the direction of the

Vassar College Observatory The Vassar College Observatory is an astronomical observatory of the private Vassar College, located near the eastern edge of the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York college's campus. Finished in 1865, it was ...

, before officially becoming director in 1915 upon Whitney's retirement. In 1915, she authored the authoritative textbook ''Introduction to the Study of Variable Stars'', which was recognized as "among the best one hundred books written by American women during the last century" at the

Century of Progress Exposition A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...

. In 1916 she became Alumna Maria Mitchell Professor of Astronomy. She became a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

in 1922. Furness was also a member of the Astronomical Society and the Association of Variable Star Observers. She was a fellow of the

British Astronomical Association The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890 as a national body to support the UK's amateur astronomers. Throughout its history, the BAA has encouraged observers to make scientifically valuable observations, often in collaborat ...

and the Astronomische Gesselschaft. Furness was an advocate for women's education, particularly in other countries. She wrote a number of articles about the situation of women's higher education in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and was an important member of the local branch of the National Alliance of Unitarian Women. Furness worked as a volunteer traveling agent for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

in 1917.

Personal life

She died on 9 February 1936 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furness, Caroline 1869 births 1936 deaths American women astronomers Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Vassar College alumni Vassar College faculty Scientists from Cleveland