Edward Charles Pickering

Profession: Astronomer and Physicist

Biography: Edward Charles Pickering was an American astronomer and physicist who is best known for his contributions to astronomy and his work as the director of the Harvard College Observatory, where he remained until his death in 1919.

Pickering began his career as an instructor of mathematics at Harvard and later became an assistant professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1868, he was appointed as the Thayer Professor of Physics at MIT, where he established the first physics laboratory in America designed for student research.

After resigning from MIT, Pickering went on to the Harvard College Observatory, where he pioneered the use of photography in astronomy, capturing images of over 220,000 stars and creating a library of stellar movements.

During this period he collaborated with Henry Draper's widow, Mary Anna Draper, to continue Draper's work in astronomical photography, leading to the publication of the "Henry Draper Catalog" (1918-1924).

Pickering developed a method to photograph the spectra of multiple stars simultaneously, contributing to the understanding of stellar classification. He recruited and employed a team of women researchers, known as the "Harvard Computers," including Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, and Antonia Maury, who made significant discoveries in astronomy.

Pickering received numerous honors and awards, including the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1886 and 1901, the Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 1888, and the Bruce Medal in 1908.

He died unexpectedly in 1919 from pneumonia and heart complications, continuing the tradition of Harvard College Observatory directors dying in office.

Born: July 19, 1846
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Star Sign: Cancer

Died: February 3, 1919 (aged 72)