Astronomy Scrapbook Annie Jump Canon

Annie Jump Canon December 11^th 1863 – April 13^th 1941

Born in Delaware on December 11^th 1863 Annie Jump Canon, her mother taught her to learn the constellations in the night sky. At school she studied maths and physics and astronomy.

She worked with Edward Pickering at Harvard Observatory checking astronomical photographs. Her job was known as a ‘computer’. She classified more than 225,000 stars into 7 main classes O, B, A, F, G, K, M. The system is the universal standard and is used today on the Hertzsprung Russell Diagram which charts the life cycles of stars. This mnemonic is remembered as "Oh, Be A Fine Girl--Kiss Me!"

As a young lady she caught scarlet fever which caused her to become nearly deaf. Annie Jump Cannon's career in astronomy lasted for more than 40 years, until her retirement in 1940. During this time, Cannon helped women gain acceptance and respect within the scientific community.