Mary Helen Wright Greuter

Mary Helen Wright Greuter (December 20, 1914 – October 23, 1997) was an American astronomer and historian,[1] who wrote and edited on the history and methodology of sciences, including anthropology, archeology, mathematics, and physics.

Mary Helen Wright Greuter
Mary Helen Wright Greuter
Born(1914-12-20)December 20, 1914
Washington, D.C., US
DiedOctober 23, 1997(1997-10-23) (aged 82)
Washington, D.C., US
NationalityAmerican
EducationMadeira School
Alma materBennett Junior College
Spouse(s)John Franklin Hawkins
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy and history
InstitutionsMount Wilson Observatory

Early years

Born in Washington, D.C., she was the daughter of the geophysicist Frederick Eugene Wright and Kathleen Ethel Finley. She was known professionally by her family name of Wright. Her siblings included, William F. Wright and Kenneth A. Wright.[2] Wright was educated at Madeira School.[3] She was a Bennett Junior College graduate (1934), and Vassar College graduate (Bachelor's, 1937; Master's in Astronomy, 1939).[2]

Career

Through her father, who led the Carnegie Institution for Science Moon Project at the Mount Wilson Observatory, Wright became acquainted with people at Mt. Wilson, and got a job as an assistant (1937) doing research on the history of telescopes;[4] and in the same year, worked as an assistant at the Vassar College Observatory.[3] She also worked as a Junior Assistant at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. (1942–43); and was associated with Palomar Observatory.[2] In 1943, she became a freelance author and editor.[5] Her best known works include, Explorer of the Universe: A Biography of George Ellery Hale (1966) and Sweeper of the Sky: The Life of Maria Mitchell (1949).[2] Wright was a member of the American Astronomical Society, the History of Science Society, and the International Astronomical Union.[5]

Personal life

She married and later divorced the artist John Franklin Hawkins, and then married Rene Greuter in 1967,[5] but remained childless.[6] She summered on Sagastaweka Island,[7] and maintained homes in Washington, New Jersey, and Nantucket. Wright's other interests included stone carving. Wright died of a heart attack in 1997 in Washington, D.C.[2]

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References
  1. "Mary Helen Wright Greuter (1914-1997)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  2. Saxon, Wolfgang (November 2, 1997). "Helen Wright Greuter, 82, Astronomer and Author". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. DeVorkin, David (November 1997). "H. A. D. News". The Newsletter of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society (42): 6.
  4. Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Wilson Co. 1957. p. 657. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  5. Reginald, R.; Menville, Douglas; Burgess, Mary A. (September 2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. Wildside Press LLC. pp. 1134–. ISBN 978-0-941028-77-6. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. United States Naval Observatory (1999). Proceedings, Nautical Almanac Office Sesquicentennial Symposium: U.S. Naval Observatory, March 3-4, 1999. U.S. Naval Observatory. p. 172. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  7. Smith, Susan (10 August 1993). The first summer people: the Thousand Islands 1650-1910. Stoddart. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-55046-037-7. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
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