Leah B. Allen

Leah B. Allen
Group photo including Allen
The Crocker eclipse expedition, 1918. Allen is third from the right.
Born(1884-11-06)November 6, 1884
Providence, Rhode Island
Died1979(1979-00-00) (aged 94–95)
Alma materPembroke College in Brown University, Wellesley College
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomy
InstitutionsLick Observatory, Wellesley College, Hood College
Thesis A study of the peculiar spectrum of the star Eta Centauri  (1912)
Signature
Notes

Leah Brown Allen (November 6, 1884 – 1979) was an American astronomer. Allen was Professor of Astronomy and Director of Williams Observatory at Hood College.

Education and career

She attended Hope High School in Providence, graduating in 1903.[3] She then studied at Pembroke College in Brown University starting in 1903[4] where she did special work in astronomy[a] under Professor Winslow Upton, director of Ladd Observatory.[6] She received an A.B. degree in 1907.[7] Allen joined Lick Observatory as Carnegie Assistant from September 1907 to June 1908[8] after a recommendation by Upton.[6] At Lick her work as a computer[9] involved "...duties in the measurement and reduction of spectrograms."[10] In 1910 she became an assistant in astronomy at Wellesley College.[11] She received her M.A. from Wellesley in 1912.[12] Her thesis was a spectroscopic study of the star Eta Centauri. Allen participated in Lick Observatory's Crocker expedition to view the total Solar eclipse of June 8, 1918 at Goldendale, Washington.[13] She was an assistant professor of astronomy at Wellesly, along with astronomy instructor Lois Tripp Slocum, in the 1920s.[14] She was affiliated with the Whitin Observatory at Wellesley.[15] Allen began teaching astronomy at Hood in 1927.[2] She was director of the John H. Williams Observatory at Hood.[16] She gave lectures at amateur astronomy groups.[17] She retired from teaching in 1955.[18] Allen died in 1979.

Personal life

Allen was the daughter of Samuel F. Allen, who had been described as a "veteran balloonist."[19] Her mother was Abby Lydia Allen, née Willey.[1]

She enjoyed sailing from the time that she was in college. Her sister considered her an expert at handling her sailboat in inclement weather.[6]

She became active in the women's suffrage movement after reading a speech by her sister, called “Why Women Should Be Given the Vote.” She was an advocate of voting rights and played a role in earning women the right to vote in Rhode Island.[20]

Honors and memberships

This prize is named in her honor:

Allen was a member of the following societies:

Correspondents

Publications

Notes

  1. ^ Upton taught an astronomy class called Research Course which was described as: "Special advanced work. Subjects arranged to meet the requirements of individual students. Elective for Graduates and approved Undergraduates."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Person Details for Leah Brown Allen, Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  2. ^ a b c Honors Convocation 2019-2020 (PDF). Frederick, Maryland: Hood College. 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Class of 1903". Hope High School - Blue and White Yearbook. Providence, RI. 1903. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Women's College Freshman Class". The Brown Alumni Monthly. Vol. IV, no. 1. June 1903. p. 59. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  5. ^ Announcement of Courses Offered in Brown University. 1912. p. 20. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Proctor, Mary (August 23, 1908). "New England Girl Comes to Lick Observatory". San Francisco Call. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  7. ^ Register 1907-08. University of California Bulletin. Vol. II. Berkeley: University of California. February 1909. p. 42. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  8. ^ Secretary's Report 1907-08. University of California Bulletin. Vol. II. Berkeley: University of California. December 1908. p. 54. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  9. ^ Leah B. Allen (April 1910). "A Brown Graduate at Lick Observatory". The Brown Alumni Monthly. Vol. X, no. 9. pp. 192–193. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  10. ^ Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Vol. XVIII. San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific. February 10, 1906. p. 246. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Alumni". The Brown Alumni Monthly. Vol. X, no. 6. January 1910. p. 138. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Legacies and Gifts 1941–42". Wellesley College Bulletin. Wellesley College. 15 October 1942 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ Campbell, W.W.; Boothroyd, S.L.; Curtis, H.D.; Hoover, J.E.; Allen, Leah B.; et al. (August 1918). "The Crocker eclipse expedition from the Lick Observatory, University of California June 8, 1918". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 30 (176): 219–240. Bibcode:1918PASP...30..219C. doi:10.1086/122736. JSTOR 40710021. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Faculty". Wellesley College Bulletin. 1925–1926. p. 42. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  15. ^ Allen, Leah (1916). Wilson, Herbert C. (ed.). "A More Favorable Public Opinion". Popular Astronomy. 24. Goodsell Observatory, Carleton College: 538–540. Bibcode:1916PA.....24..538M. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Providence Girl Able Astronomer". Providence Sunday Journal. Providence, RI. June 15, 1930.
  17. ^ "The Skyscrapers". Popular Astronomy. 41 (120): 120-121. January 1933. Bibcode:1933PA.....41....1. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  18. ^ Breen, Robert G. (22 June 1955). "Stars To Lose A Star Student". The Sun. Baltimore, Md. p. 14.
  19. ^ "Veteran Balloonist has First Trip in Heavier-Than-Air Ship". Providence Journal. Providence, RI. July 17, 1930.
  20. ^ Bodine, Andrew (April 30, 2013). Important Names in the History of Mathematics at Hood College (PDF). Hood College (Thesis). Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  21. ^ "History of the American Astronomical Society". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2009-06-26. The Fifty-seventh Meeting of the AAS was held at Hood College, Frederick, Maryland, from Monday to Wednesday, December 28–30, 1936 at the invitation of Leah B. Allen, Professor of Astronomy.
  22. ^ Hoffleit, Dorrit (2001). "The Maria Mitchell Observatory: For Astronomical Research and Public Enlightenment" (PDF). Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. 30 (1). AAVSO: 70. Bibcode:2001JAVSO..30...62H. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-09.
  23. ^ Hogg, Helen Sawyer (1984). "Variable stars". In Hoskin, Michael (ed.). Astrophysics and twentieth-century astronomy to 1950: Part A. The General History of Astronomy. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 9780521242561. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Finding Aid to the Papers of Annie Jump Cannon, 1863-1978". Neils Bohr Library and Archives. American Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  25. ^ "Finding Aid to the William F. Meggers Papers, 1917–1966". www.aip.org.
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