Today marks the bicentennial of the birth of the
distinguished astronomer Maria Mitchell.
Mitchell, born in Nantucket, discovered a comet in 1847 and was lauded
at the famous Seneca Falls Convention the following year. She was a longtime, influential faculty
member at Vassar College and was a woman’s pioneer in a number of prestigious
academic societies.
This medal was
released to honor her as a member of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, to
which she was elected in 1905 along with two other female teachers, Mary Lyon
and Frances E. Willard.
The Hall of Fame of Great Americans, located in New York
City, was once a big deal. Complete with
an outdoor courtyard of busts of the honorees, it was owned by New York University and is now part
of the Bronx Community College. The
colonnade was designed by the great architect Stanford White.
But politics and biases entered in the selection process
and, over the years, funds were lacking to run and maintain the program and
site. There have been no selections for
decades.
Still, as a boy I was riveted to reading the list of
honorees that was posted annually in the almanac. It seemed to me, as a precocious historian,
that these people were, indeed, the “greatest” Americans. Some
were, but others are rather obscure today.
Anyway, three cheers for Maria Mitchell, who certainly was
deserving of being identified as a great American.
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