In this post I will begin to share the story of a woman named Maria Mitchell. She lived from 1818 - 1889. Her father was William Mitchell and her mother was Lydia Coleman Mitchell. Her parents were Quakers. Maria was an avid learner. The Quaker tradition taught that both boys and girls should be educated and Maria received an education at local schools and from her father's schools and home tutoring. Her father was a great influence on her life; Maria developed her love of astronomy from his instruction on astronomy, mathematics, surveying and navigation.
At age 12, Maria helped her father calculate the position of their home by observing a solar eclipse. By age 14, ship captains trusted her to rate their ship's chronometers for their long whaling journeys.
Maria pursued her love of learning as a young women, becoming the Nantucket Atheneum's first librarian. She and her father continued to acquire astronomical equipment and conduct observations, working for the US Coast Survey among other entities.
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