Eleanor Annie Lamson (19 April 1875 – 27 July 1932) was an astronomer and the first woman scientist at the US Naval Observatory.

Early life and education

Eleanor Annie Lamson was born in Washington, D.C, to Franklin Silas Lamson and Anne Frances Lamson. In 1887, she obtained her B.S in mathematics from George Washington University and her M.S in astronomy two years later in 1889.

Research and career

After her degree, Lamson got a job as a " piece-work"

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

at the US Naval Observatory. She started as a full time computer in 1903 and was promoted to assistant scientist in 1907, a position she maintained for sixteen years. During this time, she received a number of promotions including becoming the head of the Computing Section at the observatory. In 1925, Lamson became a National Research Council Delegate for the International Astronomical Union and was promoted to associate scientist at the US Naval Observatory, the first time a woman held this title. Her contribution to the expedition, one of the first

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

missions to understand Earth's gravity in oceanic regions, is detailed in the appendix of the paper published about this experiment. In 1929, she wrote the technical summary of the submarine cruise for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey's Annual Report on Operations. There are many scientific papers bearing her name describing her work on orbits for numerous different comets and for bodies that orbit Mars.

Selected publications

* E. A. Lamson; A. Hall Jr.; E. C. Bower. (November 1926). "Corrections to the elements of the satellites of Mars". The Astronomical Journal. 37:69. doibr>10.1086/104749

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamson, Eleanor Annie 1875 births 1932 deaths 20th-century American astronomers American women astronomers 20th-century American women scientists Scientists from Washington, D.C. George Washington University alumni 19th-century American women scientists 19th-century American astronomers