[image: The Harvard Computers]

*Southworth Science Lecture:  "The Harvard Computers"*
*Thursday, March 16, 2017         7:00 p.m.*
*Location:  Room 165 Science Building*

*USM Portland Campus*

*Presenter:  Dr. Jerry LaSalaDirector, Southworth PlanetariumAdmission by
donation*

Exasperated with what he considered to be the sub-standard work of his male
assistants, Harvard Observatory Director Dr. Edward Pickering (1846-1919)
exclaimed that "his maid could do a better job than his assistants!"
Pickering proved this claim by hiring his maid, Willimina Fleming, to work
as a "computer," an assistant assigned the arduous task of processing the
copious astronomical data which was then being compiled.    Fleming
performed her work so efficiently, Pickering decided to hire other female
computers to operate under Fleming's guidance.    These women became known
as the now famous "Harvard computers."   This group included such
astronomical luminaries as Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, and
Antonia Maury.

Dr. Jerry LaSala delivers a lecture about these remarkable astronomers and
how their meticulous labors advanced our knowledge of stellar astronomy.