Margaret Harwood

Margaret Harwood (March 19, 1885 February 6, 1979) was an American astronomer specializing in photometry and the first director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts. An asteroid discovered in 1960 was named 7040 Harwood in her honor.

Early life and education Margaret Harwood was born in 1885 in Littleton, Massachusetts, one of nine children of Herbert Joseph Harwood and Emelie Augusta Green. In 1907, she received her bachelor's degree in astronomy (AB) from Radcliffe College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1916, she earned her master's degree in astronomy (AM) from the University of California, studying at the campus in Berkeley, California.

Career

In 1912, after graduating from Radcliffe College, Harwood worked at the Harvard Observatory and taught in private schools in the Boston area, including the Volkman School in Boston, the Buckingham School in Cambridge, and Faulkner School, in Dedham. Shortly after, an astronomical fellowship was created for women to work at Maria Mitchell Observatory. Harwood was the first recipient of the fellowship, receiving $1,000.

In 1917, Harwood discovered the asteroid 886 Washingtonia four days before its formal recognition by George Henry Peters. At the time, "senior people around her advised her not to report it as a new discovery because it was inappropriate that a woman should be thrust into the limelight with such a claim". However, Harwood did send her photographs of her discovery to Peters for him to include in his study of the asteroid's orbit.

Harwood was a devoted Unitarian. She was a trustee of Nantucket Cottage Hospital and taught at MIT during World War II. She is buried at the Westlawn Cemetery in Littleton. In 1962, she received the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy.