Florence Cushman

The Harvard Computers - Florence Cushman is located second from right, middle row.
Credit: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Florence Cushman was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1860 and was one of the numerous women that made up the Harvard College Observatory during that time. She was a member of the observatory staff for over 50 years, mainly working with Edward Charles Pickering (director of the observatory at the time). Cushman was one of Annie Jump Cannon's assistants on the Henry Draper Catalogue which consists of the spectral classifications of hundreds of thousands of stars. She had the oh-so-exciting and painstaking task of observing and classifying each individual star. Talk about concentration and dedication!