Henrietta Swan Leavitt

Henrietta Swan Leavitt, 1922

The name Edwin Hubble is widely known. The name Henrietta Swan Leavitt is not. Yet, it was her research that proved instrumental to his discoveries. This quiet, shy woman, who was diligent and dedicated to her work, produced significant early 20th-century breakthroughs in astronomy.

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A colleague described Henrietta Swan Leavitt as,

"Miss Leavitt inherited, in a somewhat chastened form, the stern virtues of her puritan ancestors. She took life seriously. Her sense of duty, justice, and loyalty was strong. For light amusements she appeared to care little. She was a devoted member of her intimate family circle, unselfishly considerate in her friendships, steadfastly loyal to her principles, and deeply conscientious and sincere in her attachment to her religion and church. She had the happy faculty of appreciating all that was worthy and lovable in others, and was possessed of a nature so full of sunshine that, to her, all of life became beautiful and full of meaning."

Henrietta was born into a prominent family in Lancaster, Massachusetts, in 1868. The Leavitts had a lineage tracing back to the early Puritans of New England. Her father, George, was a Congregational church minister, and her mother, Henrietta, was dedicated to her family's upbringing. 

While it would become her life's work, astronomy was not a significant part of Henrietta's upbringing. Nor in her early college years, which began at Oberlin before she transferred to Radcliffe. Her studies initially focused on art, philosophy, language, and mathematics. But then, in her senior year, Henrietta took her first astronomy course. She received an A- grade, but she fell in love with the subject. The course would deeply influence her future career choice.