Margaret Harwood

Margaret Harwood (1885-1979)
Credit: Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Margaret Harwood was born in March 1885 and was educated in the Littleton, MA school district. Her aptitude for math and science enabled her admission to the all-women's Radcliffe College, from which she graduated in 1907. After graduation, she worked with Edward Charles Pickering (director of Harvard College Observatory at the time) as one of his Harvard "computers" (see post on Williamina Fleming). In 1912, Harwood was the recipient of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Fellowship which allowed for advanced astronomical study and research for six months on Nantucket Island and another six months at any large observatory. In 1916, Harwood became the first director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory, making her the first woman in the United States to hold a directorship position of a small independent observatory. She held this position for 41 years, until E. Dorrit Hoffleit (we'll talk about her in a future post) took over in 1957. Harwood also received her master's degree from the University of California in 1916 for her work on variable stars.

The Harvard Computers - Margaret Harwood is located far left, back row.
Credit: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harwood's area of study was on variable stars and asteroids. In particular, she used photometry to measure the variations in brightness of these celestial bodies, with the asteroid Eros being one of her major focuses. Harwood published a catalog of 74 asteroids known to have variable brightness and also analyzed 419 variable stars in the Scutum region of the Milky Way. She was also the first woman to gain access to the Mount Wilson Observatory, the world's leading observatory at the time. Throughout her life, she continued to publish articles on the light curves of variable stars and asteroids while mentoring and teaching students.

There have been numerous individuals who credit Harwood for helping them receive higher educations. She secured funds from those she knew in order to help others pay for college, thus allowing them to have distinguished careers in astronomy. A great honor was bestowed upon Harwood in September 1960 when three astronomers discovered a main belt asteroid and named it 7040 Harwood in her honor. Harwood's work, both her research and the work she did for the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association, lives on to this day.