Margaret Mayall

American astronomer

Margaret Mayall

Born| January 27, 1902

Iron Hill, Maryland, US

Died| December 6, 1995(1995-12-06) (aged 93)

Cambridge, Massachusetts, US

Nationality| American
Education| Swarthmore College
Alma mater| Swarthmore College
Radcliffe College (M.A.)
Scientific career
Fields| Astronomy

Margaret Walton Mayall (January 27, 1902 – December 6, 1995) was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973.[1]

## Early life and education

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Mayall (born Margaret Lyle Walton) was born in Iron Hill, Maryland, on 27 January 1902.[1] She attended the University of Delaware, where her interest in astronomy grew after taking math and chemistry courses.[2] She then moved to Swarthmore College, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics in 1924.[3]

She earned an MA in Astronomy from Radcliffe College, Harvard University, in 1928 and worked as a research assistant and astronomer at Harvard College Observatory from 1924 to 1954, initially working with Annie Jump Cannon on classifying star spectra and estimating star brightness.[3] During this time, she would spend summers working with Margaret Hardwood of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, MA, where she became interested in researching variable stars.[4] She was a research staff member at the Heat Research Laboratory, Special Weapons Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1943 to 1946.[5]

## Personal life

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While working in Nantucket, she met Robert Newton Mayall, a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), and would marry in 1927.[1] They co-wrote several books on sundial and other subjects while working with the Ernst Sundial Collection of Harvard.[4]

She died of congestive heart failure in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 6 December 1995.[1]

## Awards

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In 1957, she was the recipient of the G. Bruce Blair Gold Medal from the Western Amateur Society.[4]

In 1958, she won the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy.[1]

In 1982, a minor planet was named, 3342 Fivesparks, in honor of her and her husband's home in Cambridge.[4]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e "Margaret Walton Mayall (1902–1995)". aas.org. American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
2. ^ "Halley's Comet & Northern Lights Stimulated Interest in Astronomy for a Young Lady From Iron Hill". Window on Cecil County's Past. January 16, 2015. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
3. ^ a b Notick, Samantha (2022). "Margaret Walton Mayall". Wolbach Library. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
4. ^ a b c d "Margaret Walton Mayall". library.cfa.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
5. ^ Saladyga, Michael. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (PDF). p. 751.

## Further reading

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* Williams, Thomas R.; Saladyga, Michael (2011). Advancing Variable Star Astronomy: The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-49634-6.

## External links

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* Letters at the AAVSO
* Oral history interview with Margaret Mayall on 11 August 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives \- Session I
* Oral history interview with Margaret Mayall on 12 September 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives \- Session II
* The Harold C. Ernst Collection of Portable Sundials

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