Specola Guestbook | May 2-5 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 3 – Phillips, Stratton, de Roy, Davies, Ginori, and Hertzsprung
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
For the past couple weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column. Today, in order to finish off this page of the guestbook, we will highlight six names instead of five. They are T. E. R. Phillips, F. J. M. Stratton, Felix de Roy, Charles Davies, Nello Venturi Ginori, and Ejnar Hertzsprung.
T. E. R. Phillips
T.E.R. Phillips (1868-1942) [Source: Kibworth History Society]
An Anglican cleric, he was vicar of Headley from 1916 until his death in 1942. He was also an accomplished amateur astronomer and meteorologist.
His astronomical work focused on planetary observations. A member of the British Astronomical Association, he directed the Association's section on Jupiter (1900-33) and Saturn (1935-40).
He became the president of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1927.
He served the IAU as president of the committee on physical observations of planets, and was a member of the committee on variable stars.
Frederick J. M. Stratton
F. J. M. Stratton (1881-1960) [Source: Society for Psychical Research]
He was a decorated military officer. During World War I he served in the Corps of Royal Engineers. As a result of his service, he was declared a knight of the French Légion d'honneur. He would also volunteer for service in World War II.
He was also an astronomer and professor at Cambridge University. His astronomical work was focused on solar physics. He also was a pioneer in spectroscopy of novae.
He was director of the Cambridge Solar Physics Observatory from 1928-46.
He presided the Royal Astronomical Society from 1933-35.
He was a devout Unitarian. He presided the General Assembly of the church in 1948.
His interests also strayed into parapsychology, possibly due to his friendship with Sir Oliver Lodge. In 1953, he became president of the Society for Psychical Research. His research attempts in the field were (unsurprisingly) without positive results.
He was a member of the IAU committee on astronomical expeditions, eclipses, etc., the committee on spectral classification of stars, and the finance committee. He would serve as the IAU General Secretary from 1925-1935 and would be the only IAU member to attend all of the first ten general assemblies (spanning 1922-1958).
Félix de Roy
Félix de Roy (1883-1942) at the 4th IAU General Assembly, 1932 [From Specola Vaticana archives]
He was both an astronomer and a journalist. As a journalist, he wrote for Le Matin (Antwerp) from 1926-1940.
His research focused on variable stars. He made observations of more than five thousand of them. He also studied comets and asteroids.
He was director of the Variable Star Section of the British Astronomical Association from 1922-1939.
He founded and was served as president of the Astronomical Society of Antwerp.
He was a member of the IAU committee on shooting stars (meteors) and the committee on variable stars.
The crater De Roy on the moon is named in his honor.
Charles D. P. Davies
Charles D. P. Davies (1856 - 1931) [Source: The Bellringer no.7 vol.1, April 1, 1907]
Researching C.D.P. Davies was a bit of a challenge, particularly since there is no record of him in the Transactions of the International Astronomical Union (vol. 1, 1922). Apparently he was present as an unregistered guest. A shallow internet search did not produce anything. I almost skipped the name for this blog post, but then I happened to stumble upon his death notice in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (Feb 1932).
Davies was an Anglican minister and astrophile who took an interest in the construction of telescopes and telescope mirrors, including (what was quite advanced for the time) parabolic mirrors. His expertise contributed to some of the portable telescopes used on eclipse expeditions.
He was one of the founding members of the British Astronomical Association, served as its president in 1924.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1889.
He was also an accomplished change ringer, and served as editor of Church Bells.
Nello Venturi-Ginori
Nello Venturi Ginori Lisci (1884-1943) also visited on May 4. He wrote, "Florence, Italy."
This was not his first visit to the Vatican Observatory. He first signed the guestbook on January 18, 1912, and was the subject of a previous Specola Guestbook column. Interested readers can check out that article.
He is listed in the IAU record as a representative of Italy, but did not apparently serve as a member of any IAU committee.
Ejnar Hertzsprung
Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873-1967)
Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873-1967) visited on May 5. He wrote, "Leiden, chief-assistant."
He studied the relationship between temperature (spectral type) and luminosity of stars. He correlated spectral line widths and proper motions with distance of stars, which was a necessary step in establishing absolute magnitude and hence luminosity.
Today, every introductory astronomy course includes a section on the famous Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, which plots stellar luminosity against surface temperature (or spectral type). ("Russell" is for Henry Norris Russell, who also attended this IAU meeting and will be discussed in a future post.)
He was among the first to use Cepheid variables to measure distances, building on the work by Henrietta Leavitt.
The planetary scientist Gerard Kuiper (for whom the Kuiper belt is named) was one of his students.
He was awarded the Bruce Medal in 1937. The asteroid 1693 Hertzsprung is named for him.
Hertzsprung served the IAU as a member of the committee on stellar photometry, the committee on double stars, the committee on variable stars, and the committee on spectral classification of stars.
Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram [Source: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics]
Specola Guestbook | April 29-May 2, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 2 – Bigourdan, Belot, Donitch, Hough, and Crommelin
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Last week, we began highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. This event will occupy the next several entries in this column. The visitors for today's column include Guillaume Bigourdan, Émile Belot, Nicholas Donitch, Sydney Hough, and Andrew Crommelin.
Guillaume Bigourdan
Guillaume Bigourdan (1851-1932)
Camille Guillaume Bigourdan (1851-1932) visited on April 29. Next to his name, he wrote, "Paris, Observatoire national France."
His research primarily involved the study of nebulae, of which he measured the positions of thousands. He also attempted (mostly unsuccessfully) to measure their proper motions.
He was director of the international bureau of time (Bureau International de l'Heure) from 1919-1928.
He was vice president of the French Academy of Sciences in 1923, and its president in 1924.
He served the IAU as president of the committee on nebulae, president of the committee on the reform of the calendar. He also served on just about every other committee in the IUA.
Émile Belot
Émile Belot (1857-1944) visited on the first of May. He wrote, "Paris Vice-President Societé Astronomique de France" (Paris, Vice-President of the Astronomical Society of France).
Belot was a chief engineer of French state factories. He explored methods of automating production and the use of machines to streamline manufacture.
He served as vice president of the French philomathic society and the French astronomical society.
In astronomy, he was primarily interested in cosmogeny. He was a proponent of a dualist theory of the origins of worlds, in which the early Sun had a violent interaction with some larger nebulous object. This interaction (according to the hypothesis) led to the formation of the planets.
Belot did not formally serve on any committee of the IAU, but petitioned (unsuccesfully, as far as I can tell) for the formation of a committee on cosmogeny.
Nicholas Donitch
Nicholas Donitch (1974-1956)
Nicholas N. Donitch [Nicolae Donici] (1874-1956) also visited on May 1. He wrote, "Observatoire d'Astronomie Physique sis parc de Starya Doubossary, Bessarabie. Adresse: Hotel de Londres, Kichinev, Bessarabie." (Astrophysical observatory in Starya Doubossary park, Bessarabia [Romania]. Address: London Hotel, Kishinev, Bessarabia.)
He came from a noble Romanian family. He directed the observatory in Bessarabia.
His research involved solar eclipses, solar physics, and planetary astronomy.
he belonged to the Romanian Academy until he was expelled by communist authorities in 1948, at which time he fled to France.
Donitch was a member of the IAU committee on solar physics.
The asteroid 9494 Donici is named in his honor.
Sydney S. Hough
Sydney S. Hough (1879-1923) [Source: Astronomical Society of Southern Africa]
He directed the Royal Observatory of South Africa from 1907 to 1923.
His background was applied mathematics (regarding tidal theory). The Hough functions in the equations governing the fluid motions of tides are named for him.
As director of the Royal Observatory, he became adept at practical astronomy as well. He carried forth the observatory's contribution to the Carte du Ciel program, measuring the positions of more than twenty thousand stars.
He was the first president of the Royal Society of South Africa in 1908, he also was a Fellow of the Royal Society (Britain) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa.
He was a vice-president of the IAU executive committee and president of the IAU committee on meridian astronomy. He served on the committee of longitudes by wireless telegraph, the committee on the Carte du Ciel project, the committee on time.
Andrew C. D. Crommelin
Andrew Crommelin (1865-1939)
Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin (1865-1939) also visited on May 2. He wrote simply, "Greenwich."
His astronomical work involved solar eclipses as well as calculating the orbits of comets. He spearheaded one of the famous solar eclipse expeditions of 1919 to test Einstein's general theory of relativity. His group made observations from Sobral, Brazil.
In 1929, he established that three comets (Pons 1818 II, Coggia-Winnecke 1873 VII, and Forbes 1928 III) were in fact the same object. This comet was eventually renamed 27P/Crommelin.
He was president of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1929-1931.
The asteroid 1899 Crommelin, the comet 27P/Crommelin, and the craters Crommelin on the moon and Mars are all named in his honor.
He served on the IAU committee on minor planets and the committee on comets.
Next week: Theodore Phillips, F. J. M. Stratton, Felix de Roy, Nello Venturi Ginori, and Ejnar Hertzsprung
Specola Guestbook | April 13-28, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 1 – Aitken, Curtis, van Steenwijk, Cortie, and Stein
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
In the middle of the page, between March and April 1922, there is a red line drawn in the guestbook.
What's that line doing there? The explanation becomes apparent when you see what is written in the top margin of the book:
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919, with general assemblies of astronomical representatives from around the world to meet every three years. The first general assembly was held in Rome in May 1922. On the occasion of this meeting, a large number of attendees (starting with some arriving as early as April) would make a visit to the Vatican Observatory, which at the time was still located within the walls of Vatican City.
IAU 1922 General Assembly Plenary Session; Accademia dei Lincei, Rome. [Source: IAU]
Robert G. Aitken
Robert G. Aitken (1864-1951) [Source: National Academy of Sciences]
His research was predominantly focused on cataloging binary stars, of which he discovered about 3100. He also computed orbits for comets and planetary moons.
He was president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1899 and again 1915.
He was the first chair of the IAU committee on double stars.
The asteroid 3070 Aitken, the lunar crater Aitken, and the lunar South Pole-Aitken basin are named in his honor.
Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin [Source: LPI (annotated LROC WAC image produced by NASA/GSFC/ASU)]
Heber D. Curtis
Heber Doust Curtis (1872-1942) [Credit: Allegheny Observatory]
He was among the first to observe an active galactic nucleus (M87).
The famous Shapley-Curtis debate (AKA the "Great Debate") occurred between himself and Harlow Shapley in 1920, held at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Shapley held that spiral nebulae were part of the Milky Way, while Curtis proposed that they were distinct galaxies apart from the Milky Way. It is generally considered that Curtis gave the better argument. Regardless, the controversy over spiral nebulae was resolved the following year when Edwin Hubble was able to measure the distance to the Andromeda nebula, which lay far outside the Milky Way.
He also invented a novel compact design for a blink comparator.
He was president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1912.
The lunar crater Curtis is named in his honor.
He served on the IAU committee on stellar parallax and the commission on nebulae and stellar clusters.
Jacob E. de Vos van Steenwijk
Jacob E. baron de Vos van Steenwijk (1889-1978)
Jacob Evert baron de Vos van Steenwijk (1889-1978) visited on April 25. He wrote, "Scheveningen Holland."
He was an astronomer who later turned to politics. He served as mayor of Zwolle, then mayor of Haarlem, and later the Queen's Commissioner of North Holland.
From 1945 to 1962, he was one of the curators of Leiden University.
He served on the IAU finance committee.
Fr. Aloysius L. Cortie SJ
Fr. Aloysius L. Cortie SJ (1859-1925) [Source: Stonyhurst College]
He was primarily a solar astronomer, studying sunspots and solar magnetic storms.
He participated in several eclipse expeditions.
He served as director of the Solar Section of the British Astronomical Association, president of the Manchester Astronomical Society.
He was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Meteorological Society.
He also was the director the Stonyhurst College music program.
He served on the IAU committee on solar physics.
Fr. Johan Stein SJ
Fr. Johan Stein SJ (1871-1951)
Fr. Johan Willem Jakob Antoon Stein S.J. (1871-1951) also visited on April 28. He wrote, "Amsterdam Holland."
He had served as an assistant at the Vatican Observatory from 1906-1910, but returned temporarily to Holland, where he taught mathematics and science at St. Ignatius College.
He would return to the Vatican Observatory as its director in 1930, at which time he would oversee its move from inside Vatican City to Castel Gandolfo.
He was a knight of the Order of the Lion in the Netherlands.
There is a crater on the far side of the Moon that bears his name.
He served on the IAU committee on variable stars.
Next week: C.G. Bigourdan, Émile Belot, Nicholas Donitch, Sydney S. Hough, and Andrew C.D. Crommelin
Specola Guestbook | March 28, 1922: Raymond Archibald
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from March 28, 1922, when Raymond Clare Archibald made a visit.
Raymond Clare Archibald (1875-1955) [Source: Mathematical Association of America]
The year of his visit (1922), he was president of the Mathematical Association of America.
He founded the journal Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation. He edited several other mathematical journals.
He grew the Brown University mathematical library into one of the preeminent resources in the field.
He founded the Mary Mellish Archibald Memorial Library, which grew to over 23,000 volumes during his lifetime.
He also served as librarian for the American Mathematical Society from 1921-1941.
Specola Guestbook | Feb 24, 1922: Mentore Maggini
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from February 24, 1922, when Mentore Maggini made a visit.
Next to his name, Mentore Maggini (1890-1941) wrote, "R. Osservatorio Astrofisico - Catania." (Royal Astrophysical Observatory, Catania). He was an astronomer who studied binary stars and the Martian surface.
In 1926, he would be named director of the Observatory of Collurania (in Teramo), where he would remain until his death in 1941.
In his research on Mars, he focused on Martian cartography. Among his work, he studied the psycho-optic theory of Martian canals (i.e. the tendency of the eye to create connections between nearby points) at a time when most people thought the canals were real.
He was among the first to do photometry using photoelectric cells, which he applied to the study of variable stars.
He wrote a popular children's book on astronomy, Il Libro di Urania, which was published posthumously in 1943.
The crater Maggini on Mars is named in his honor.
Specola Guestbook | Oct 18, 1921: William Pickering
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from October 18, 1921, when William H. Pickering made a visit.
William Henry Pickering (1858-1938)
Next to his name, William Henry Pickering (1858-1938) wrote, "Harvard Observatory, Cambridge U.S.A." He was an astronomer who constructed several observatories.
He was the brother of Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory from 1877-1919. Edward was the subject of a previous Specola Guestbook post. He made a visit in 1913.
It is possible that the occasion of the visit to the Specola was in preparation for the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. That meeting took place in May 1922 in Rome. Pickering was an inaugural member, and served on the commission for lunar nomenclature and the commission for planetary physics.
Among his scientific contributions, he discovered one of Saturn's moons, Phoebe.
Based on orbital anomalies of the outer planets Uranus and Neptune, he predicted the existence of a sizable unknown planet, popularly called Planet X. Early searches for Planet X found nothing, but in 1930 Clyde Tombaugh discovered an object which was (coincidentally, it turns out) where Pickering had predicted. This object was, of course, Pluto.
(n.b. Pluto is not large enough to perturb the orbits of Uranus and Neptune significantly. In fact, the observed orbital anomalies were themselves inaccurate.)
In his observations of the moon, he saw changes in surface albedo that he interpreted as seasonal effects due to lunar vegetation. (It should be noted that albedo or brightness observations made by the human eye are unreliable, as the eye's sensitivity changes based on background light. It was not until the advent of quantitative technologies such as the photomultiplier tube [invented 1934] that accurate brightnesses could be recorded.)
He was a fellow of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences.
The asteroid 784 Pickeringia and the craters Pickering on the Moon and Mars are named in honor of both him and his brother Edward.
Specola Guestbook | Feb 14, 1921: Guido Alfani
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from February 14, 1921, when Fr. Guido Alfani made a visit.
Fr. Guido Alfani Sch.P. (1876-1940)
Next to his name, Fr. Guido Alfani Sch. P. (1876-1940) wrote, "Osservat. Ximeniano di Firenze" (Ximeniano Observatory of Florence). He was a Piarist priest (Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, also known as the Scolopi). He directed the Ximeniano Observatory from 1904 until his death in 1940.
As a scientist, his interest spanned several disciplines, including astronomy, and meteorology, but primarily seismology. He specialized in the development of scientific instruments.
He is particularly noted for the invention of several seismographical instruments, including a portable tripod-mounted seismograph and the Alfani photoseismograph. He was able to pinpoint the epicenters of several earthquakes in Messina, Avezzano, and Toscana.
Among his work in meteorology, in 1912 he constructed a 100 meter antenna to receive a wireless telegraph signal transmitted from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This signal carried an accurate time and meteorological data.
One of Alfani's seismographical instruments. [Source: WikiPia]
Specola Guestbook | June 8, 1920: Charles Cushing
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from June 8, 1920, when Charles Cushing made a visit.
Charles S. Cushing (1867-1946) [Source: Astronomical Society of the Pacific]
Cushing was a career attorney with a passion for astronomy. He was one of the earliest members of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, having joined shortly after its founding in 1889. He would become its president in 1921.
He was also president of the California Bar Association from 1918-1919, and (a few times) president of the Society of California Pioneers (an historical society).
Specola Guestbook | April 1, 1920: Sydney Chapman
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from April 1, 1920 (no foolin'!), when Sydney Chapman made a visit.
Sydney Chapman (1888-1970) [Credit: NOAA]
He was a mathematician who turned his skills to various astronomical and atmospheric phenomena. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Manchester in 1919, he was assistant to the Astronomer Royal Sir Frank Dyson at the Greenwich Observatory. Much of his work there involved studying the influence of the Sun and Moon on terrestrial magnetism.
He became Sedleian Chair of Natural Philosophy at Oxford in 1946. After retiring in 1953, he relocated to the US. He spent much of that time at the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks, AK and the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder CO.
In mathematics, he is responsible for the Chapman-Kolmogorov equations governing Markov stochastic processes. (Kolmogorov independently developed the same equations.)
In the 1930s, he figured out the photochemistry of ozone production in the upper atmosphere. He also predicted the presence and character of the terrestrial magnetosphere, which were confirmed by the Explorer 12 satellite.
He was president of the London Mathematical Society from 1929-31, of the Royal Meteorological Society from 1932-33, and of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics from 1951-54.
The Chapman medal is awarded annually by the Royal Astronomical Society in his honor for "investigations of outstanding merit in the science of the Sun, space and planetary environments or solar-terrestrial physics."
The crater Chapman on the moon is named for him.
Specola Guestbook | January 29, 1920: Emilio Bianchi
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Before going further, I would like to note a considerable gap in the guestbook between 1914-1920, denoted in a few blank lines in the book. In fact, the last entry was January 8, 1915 (Giovanni Boccardi, the subject of last week's Specola Guestbook column), and the next entry was not until January of 1920. There are two possibilities for this gap. One possibility is that, for whatever reason, a different guestbook was being used during this gap period. However, our archivist is not aware of any such book. The other possibility is that during these years -- during which the world was at war, followed by the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 -- the Vatican Observatory was closed to visitors.
It should be noted that the work of the Observatory during the War continued uninterrupted. In fact, due to blackout rules in Rome during the War, conditions for astronomy were greatly improved from 1915-1918.
Today’s guestbook entry notes the first visitor to sign after the gap period: on January 29, 1920, Emilio Bianchi made a visit.
Emilio Bianchi (1875-1941) [Source: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova]
He directed the Roman College Observatory from 1919-1922. From 1922 until his death in 1941 he was the director of the Astronomical Observatory of Brera in Milan.
He organized the construction of a new observatory in Milan (Merate) as well as the construction of the observatory at Monte Porzio near Rome. In the 1920s, he consulted with Pope Pius XI and advised on the relocation of the Vatican Observatory from its original spot on the walls of Vatican City to its current location at Castel Gandolfo.
He served as president of the Italian National Research Council's Committee for Astronomy and Geodesy.
In 1936 he became one of the inaugural members of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences.
Specola Guestbook | January 8, 1915: Giovanni Boccardi
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from January 8, 1915, when Giovanni Boccardi made a visit.
Giovanni Boccardi (1859-1936) [Source: Torinoscienza.it]
In the late 1890's, while working at the observatory of the Collegio Romano, he calculated the orbit of an asteroid for which he successfully proposed the name 416 Vaticana.
For the period of ca. 1899-1903, he was a professor at the University of Catania, where he was engaged in the work of the Carte du Ciel project. He catalogued over 3000 stars.
He became director of the observatory at the University of Turin in 1903. As director of the observatory, he oversaw its move in 1912 to the current location on the Pino Torinese hill.
He founded the Società Astronomica Italiana (Italian Astronomical Society) in 1906. He was also one of the first Italian astronomers to join the International Astronomical Union.
The asteroid 31015 Boccardi is named for him.
Specola Guestbook | July 15, 1914: Caroline Furness
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from July 15, 1914, when Caroline Furness made a visit.
Caroline E. Furness (1869-1936)
Source: Vassar Encyclopedia
Next to her name, Caroline Ellen Furness (1869-1936) wrote, "Vassar College Observatory, N.Y." She was an astronomer who directed the Vassar observatory.
She was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1896. She studied there under Harold Jacoby.
At Vassar, she taught the first course on variable stars offered in any American university. She literally wrote the book on the subject, with her 1915 tome, Introduction to the Study of Variable Stars.
In 1910, she became acting director of the Vassar observatory while the previous director, Mary Whitney, was on medical leave. After Whitney's retirement in 1915, Furness formally took the director's title. She would hold the post until her death in 1936.