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Annie Jump Cannon (1863 – 1941) was a pioneering astronomer in the science of classifying stars according to their characteristics. These factors include their surface temperatures and an analysis of their spectral lines which provide information as to the presence of chemical elements or molecules. Working with Edward C. Pickering, she developed the Harvard Classification Scheme which was the first serious attempt to classify stars according to their temperatures and spectral types. Annie was also a suffragette and a member of the National Women’s Party which campaigned for equal voting rights for women.
Annie was born in Dover, Delaware in 1863. Annie’s mother introduced her to astronomy. Using an old textbook, they learned about the constellations by observing them from the attic of their home. Annie was a student at what is now Wesley College in Dover where she studied in biology, mathematics and chemistry. Later she studied at Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she excelled in mathematics. She graduated at the valedictorian of her class with a degree in physics.
She returned to Delaware and would live there for the next 10 years. During this period, she developed her skills in photography and took a tour of Europe where she took many pictures. Upon returning home, she published a pamphlet, which incorporated her pictures and her prose, which was entitled, “In the Footsteps of Columbus.” It was handed out as a souvenir at the Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Annie nearly died for scarlet fever in 1894. The disease left her almost deaf, but that didn’t stop her from continuing her education. She returned to Wellesley as an instructor and enrolled at Radcliff as a “special student” because that college had a better telescope. After earning her Master’s degree at Wellesley, Edward Pickering hired her as his assistant. It was during this extended period that Annie manually classified more stars than any one else, a total of over 350,000.
Annie continued working almost until the end of her life. She died in 1941.
This information and the photo of Annie Jump Cannon was taken from Wikipedia.
I selected this piece for my type set because I was born and raised in Delaware. There are not a great deal of Delaware related items to collect, which made this American Innovation Dollar of interest to me.