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Allie (or Alice) Vibert Douglas, (December 15, 1894 – July 2, 1988), who usually went by her middle name, was a Canadian astronomer and the first Canadian woman to become an astrophysicist.


Life

Douglas was born in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, on 15 December 1894. Because both of Douglas' parents died the year she was born, she first lived in London, England with her brother George Vibert Douglas, and her grandmother. Douglas' grandfather was Rev. George Douglas, a prominent Methodist minister and educator. In 1904 both Douglas and her brother returned to Montreal where they attended Westmount Academy. Growing up, Douglas was interested in science but felt that her gender was a handicap. In high school she was refused admission to a small science club solely based on the fact that she was a woman. Her brother helped her circumvent this issue by leaving the door ajar and letting Allie sit outside the classroom to listen to lectures. Douglas graduated at the top of her class and received a scholarship to
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
. In 1912 she began her studies in honors mathematics and physics at McGill, but they were interrupted during her third year with the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Her brother George enlisted as an officer and was stationed near
London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
. There, George suggested that Allie and their two aunts, Mina and Mary, move to London with him. Allie was then invited to join the war effort by a family friend and decided to work in the War Office as a statistician. Although bombs would fall close to her workplace, Douglas persevered and had the highest pay out of all of the temporary women civil servants in the National Service. In 1918, at the age of 23, she was awarded the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for her work. Having returned to Montreal in 1920, she continued her studies, earning a bachelor's degree and then a master's degree in 1921. She went on to the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, studying under
Arthur Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumin ...
, one of the leading astronomers of the day. She earned her PhD in astrophysics through McGill in 1926 and was the first person to receive it from a Quebec university, and one of the first women to accomplish this in North America. Douglas wrote an important biography of Eddington, ''The Life of Arthur Eddington''. After completing her doctorate, Douglas joined the faculty at McGill, lecturing in physics and astrophysics. In 1939 she moved to
Queen's University at Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and owns Herstmonceux Castle in East Suss ...
where she served as
Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
of Women until 1958. She was Professor of Astronomy from 1946 until her retirement in 1964 and was instrumental in having women accepted into engineering and medicine. In 1967 she became an Officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...
. In the same year, the National Council of Jewish Women named her as one of 10 Women of the Century. In 1988, the year of her death, asteroid 3269 was named
Vibert Douglas Allie (or Alice) Vibert Douglas, (December 15, 1894 – July 2, 1988), who usually went by her middle name, was a Canadian astronomer and the first Canadian woman to become an astrophysicist. Life Douglas was born in Montreal, Quebec, on 15 Dec ...
in her honor. She was also a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in Britain and a president of the RASC. While in Kingston, she was an active member of the Kingston Centre RASC. There was interest in astronomy in the Kingston area long before the Centre was founded in 1961. The Kingston Observatory opened in 1855, the first in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and astronomy has been taught at Queens since 1863. In the early 1900s Queen's professors and others from the area had become members of the Society. Vibert Douglas was an active member dating back to her Montreal years and became National President in 1943–44. It was largely due to Vibert Douglas' work that the Kingston Centre was formed in 1961, the 16th Centre of the Society. Collaborating with
John Stuart Foster John Stuart Foster (May 30, 1890 – September 9, 1964) was a Canadian physicist. Biography Born in Clarence, Nova Scotia, he completed his Ph.D. at Yale University with a dissertation on the first measurements of the Stark effect in Helium ...
, she researched the spectra of
A and B type stars In astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, s ...
and the
Stark effect The Stark effect is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external electric field. It is the electric-field analogue of the Zeeman effect, where a spectral line is split into several compon ...
using the
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian government. The Dominion architect responsible for the building was Edgar Lewis Horwood. The main instrumen ...
. In 1947 she became the first Canadian president of the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
and represented Canada during a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
conference in
Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, seven years later. Douglas died on 2 July 1988.Ogilvie & Harvey, p. 756 Vibert Douglas has a
patera In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''phiale'' ( ) or ''patera'' () is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation ('' omphalos'', "bellybutton") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, ...
(an irregular or complex crater) on Venus named after her. Vibert-Douglas Patera is located at 11.6° South latitude 194.3° East longitude. It is almost circular and 45 km in diameter.


See also

*
List of craters on Venus This is a list of craters on Venus, named by the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. All craters on Venus are named after famous women or female first names. ''(For features on Venus othe ...
*


Notes


References


Allie Vibert Douglas fonds
a
Queen's University Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Vibert 1894 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Canadian astronomers Canadian astrophysicists McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Canada Scientists from Montreal Women astronomers 20th-century Canadian women scientists Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada