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Margaret W. Mayall
1902 - 1995
Excerpt from the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (see documentation for full citation):
Margaret Walton Mayall
Born Iron Hill, Maryland, USA, 27 January 1902
Died Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 6 December 1995
Over a period of 24 years, Margaret Walton Mayall led the American Association of Variable Star Observers [AAVSO] to a position of international leadership among variable star organizations while providing substantial support to professional variable star astronomers and for amateur and popular astronomy through her publications. Mayall studied at the University of Delaware, Swarthmore College (BA: 1924), and Radcliffe College Harward University, where she earned an MA in Astronomy in 1927. With the help of Leslie Comrie at Swarthmore, Mayall found employment at Harvard College Observatory [HCO]. From 1924 to 1954 she worked at HCO as a research assistant, and later as Pickering Memorial Astronomer. She spent the summers of 1925 and 1926 as first assistant to Margaret Harwood, director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and it was there that she first became interested in variable stars. It was also Nantucket where she met Robert Newton Mayall. They were married in 1927, but had no children. During World War II and for a year beyond (1943-1946), Mayall served in the research staff of the Heat Research Laboratory, Special Weapons Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
While at HCO, Mayall assisted Annie Cannon in the classification of the spectra of faint stars and the estimation of the brightness of catalogued stars. She worked with Cannon until the latter's death in 1941, and then completed Cannon's unfinished spectral work, editing the results for publication as the second volume of The Henry Draper Extension-The Annie J. Cannon Memorial in 1949. Mayall published many other technical monographs while working at HCO.
Early in 1949, HCO Director Harlow Shapley asked Mayall to consider taking over the position of AAVSO Recorder from Leon Campbell when he retired. The AAVSO was founded in 1911 by William Olcott in response to HCO director Edward Pickering's efforts to collect observations of variable stars. From about 1918 to 1954, the AAVSO was headquartered at and run under the auspices of HCO. In 1949, Mayall accepted the position and was named Pickering Memorial Astronomer at HCO and AAVSO recorder. (The title was later changed to director.) She remained director of the AAVSO for 24 years until her retirement in 1973.
When Shapley retired from the HCO directorship in 1952, AAVSO's position began to change. With an inadequate budget, aging telescopes and other facilities, and aspirations for a rather different type of organization, the new HCO director, Donald Menzel, was forced to reconsider observatory priorities. In 1954, he announced that the AAVSO would have to move out of the observatory, and the endowment that supported the Pickering Memorial Professorship would no longer be available. With a new title of director, Mayall oversaw the transition of the AAVSO to an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization. As the association struggled through severe financial hardship Mayall worked without salary for a number of years to ensure the future of the AAVSO.
Through her determination, persistence, and vision, and with substantial help from Clinton Ford and other AAVSO leaders, Mayall secured the future of the AAVSO in many important ways. During the critical early years of independence, she actively sought out new sources of funding from government, industry, and private donors. She communicated widely with the astronomical community to solicit both technical and moral support for the AAVSO from the professional community; she established an endowment fund to secure a firmer financial footing for the AAVSO; she expanded existing programs and committees and added new ones to attract a broader membership; she added more stars to the observing program and established new systems for correlating and publishing data for professional use; and in 1967 she introduced modern data processing methods at the AAVSO, with emphasis on machine computing and plotting for publication. Mayall retired as director emeritus of the AAVSO in 1973.
As a member of the International Astronomical Union [IAU], Mayall participated in the activities of two IAU commissions, Commission 27 on Variable Stars, and Commission 29 on Stellar Spectra. She was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of Sigma Xi, the American Astronomical Society, and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Besides her professional work in astronomy, Mayall had a lifelong interest in promoting the work of amateur astronomers, and especially in encouraging popular interest in astronomy at all levels. Perhaps her most widely recognized contribution to popular astronomy was as the co‐editor, with R. Newton Mayall, of the revised editions of Olcott's Field Book of the Skies. She was also co‐author with her husband of Skyshooting, a book on photography for amateur astronomers, and Sundials and Their Construction, Astronomical Contribution and Significance. In addition, Mayall edited and revised a new edition of Thomas Webb 's Celestial Objects for the Common Telescope that has remained in print since 1962.
In all, Margaret Mayall worked with devotion and dedication to firmly establish the AAVSO as an independent research organization. It is today the largest organization of variable star observers in the world. In recognition of her efforts, the AAVSO, in 1974, established the Margaret W. Mayall Assistantship in her honor to provide variable star research opportunities for young people at AAVSO headquarters. In 1957, the Western Amateur Astronomers awarded their G. Bruce Blair Gold Medal to Mayall for her contributions to amateur astronomy. The following year, Mayall was the recipient of the American Astronomical Society's Annie Jump Cannon Award. The IAU named minor planet (3342) Fivesparks in honor of Mayall and her husband Newton.
Margaret Walton Mayall
Born Iron Hill, Maryland, USA, 27 January 1902
Died Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 6 December 1995
Over a period of 24 years, Margaret Walton Mayall led the American Association of Variable Star Observers [AAVSO] to a position of international leadership among variable star organizations while providing substantial support to professional variable star astronomers and for amateur and popular astronomy through her publications. Mayall studied at the University of Delaware, Swarthmore College (BA: 1924), and Radcliffe College Harward University, where she earned an MA in Astronomy in 1927. With the help of Leslie Comrie at Swarthmore, Mayall found employment at Harvard College Observatory [HCO]. From 1924 to 1954 she worked at HCO as a research assistant, and later as Pickering Memorial Astronomer. She spent the summers of 1925 and 1926 as first assistant to Margaret Harwood, director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and it was there that she first became interested in variable stars. It was also Nantucket where she met Robert Newton Mayall. They were married in 1927, but had no children. During World War II and for a year beyond (1943-1946), Mayall served in the research staff of the Heat Research Laboratory, Special Weapons Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
While at HCO, Mayall assisted Annie Cannon in the classification of the spectra of faint stars and the estimation of the brightness of catalogued stars. She worked with Cannon until the latter's death in 1941, and then completed Cannon's unfinished spectral work, editing the results for publication as the second volume of The Henry Draper Extension-The Annie J. Cannon Memorial in 1949. Mayall published many other technical monographs while working at HCO.
Early in 1949, HCO Director Harlow Shapley asked Mayall to consider taking over the position of AAVSO Recorder from Leon Campbell when he retired. The AAVSO was founded in 1911 by William Olcott in response to HCO director Edward Pickering's efforts to collect observations of variable stars. From about 1918 to 1954, the AAVSO was headquartered at and run under the auspices of HCO. In 1949, Mayall accepted the position and was named Pickering Memorial Astronomer at HCO and AAVSO recorder. (The title was later changed to director.) She remained director of the AAVSO for 24 years until her retirement in 1973.
When Shapley retired from the HCO directorship in 1952, AAVSO's position began to change. With an inadequate budget, aging telescopes and other facilities, and aspirations for a rather different type of organization, the new HCO director, Donald Menzel, was forced to reconsider observatory priorities. In 1954, he announced that the AAVSO would have to move out of the observatory, and the endowment that supported the Pickering Memorial Professorship would no longer be available. With a new title of director, Mayall oversaw the transition of the AAVSO to an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization. As the association struggled through severe financial hardship Mayall worked without salary for a number of years to ensure the future of the AAVSO.
Through her determination, persistence, and vision, and with substantial help from Clinton Ford and other AAVSO leaders, Mayall secured the future of the AAVSO in many important ways. During the critical early years of independence, she actively sought out new sources of funding from government, industry, and private donors. She communicated widely with the astronomical community to solicit both technical and moral support for the AAVSO from the professional community; she established an endowment fund to secure a firmer financial footing for the AAVSO; she expanded existing programs and committees and added new ones to attract a broader membership; she added more stars to the observing program and established new systems for correlating and publishing data for professional use; and in 1967 she introduced modern data processing methods at the AAVSO, with emphasis on machine computing and plotting for publication. Mayall retired as director emeritus of the AAVSO in 1973.
As a member of the International Astronomical Union [IAU], Mayall participated in the activities of two IAU commissions, Commission 27 on Variable Stars, and Commission 29 on Stellar Spectra. She was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of Sigma Xi, the American Astronomical Society, and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Besides her professional work in astronomy, Mayall had a lifelong interest in promoting the work of amateur astronomers, and especially in encouraging popular interest in astronomy at all levels. Perhaps her most widely recognized contribution to popular astronomy was as the co‐editor, with R. Newton Mayall, of the revised editions of Olcott's Field Book of the Skies. She was also co‐author with her husband of Skyshooting, a book on photography for amateur astronomers, and Sundials and Their Construction, Astronomical Contribution and Significance. In addition, Mayall edited and revised a new edition of Thomas Webb 's Celestial Objects for the Common Telescope that has remained in print since 1962.
In all, Margaret Mayall worked with devotion and dedication to firmly establish the AAVSO as an independent research organization. It is today the largest organization of variable star observers in the world. In recognition of her efforts, the AAVSO, in 1974, established the Margaret W. Mayall Assistantship in her honor to provide variable star research opportunities for young people at AAVSO headquarters. In 1957, the Western Amateur Astronomers awarded their G. Bruce Blair Gold Medal to Mayall for her contributions to amateur astronomy. The following year, Mayall was the recipient of the American Astronomical Society's Annie Jump Cannon Award. The IAU named minor planet (3342) Fivesparks in honor of Mayall and her husband Newton.
Saladyga M.: Mayall, Margaret Walton. In: Hockey T. (Ed.) The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers: SpringerReference (www.springerreference.com). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2007. DOI: 10.1007/SpringerReference_58921 2012-12-20 18:14:24 UTC
References cited in this biography:
Cannon, Annie J. and Margaret W. Mayall (1949). The Annie J. Cannon Memorial Volume of the Henry Draper Extension. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard College Observatory.
Hoffleit, Dorrit (1993). Women in the History of Variable Star Astronomy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Association of Variable Star Observers.
--- (1996). "Margaret Walton Mayall 1902-1995." Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 28: 1455-1456.
Mayall, Margaret (ed.) (1955). The Leon Campbell Memorial Volume: Studies of Long Period Variables. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Association of Variable Star Observers.
Mayall, R. Newton and Margaret W. Mayall (1968). Photography for Amateur Astronomers. New York: Dover.
Olcott, William T. (1954). Field Book of the Skies. 4th ed, edited by R. Newton and Margaret W. Mayall. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
Robinson, Leif J. (1990). "Enterprise at Harvard College Observatory." Journal for the History of Astronomy 21: 89-103.
Webb, Thomas William and Margaret W. Mayall (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes. 2 Vols. New York: Dover. (Vol. 1, The Solar System and Vol. 2, The Stars.)