THE LIFE
Dorothea Klumpke Roberts (August 9, 1861 in San Francisco – October 5, 1942 in San Francisco) was an American astronomer. She was Director of the Bureau of Measurements at the Paris Observatory. Her father, John Gerard Klumpke (1825–1917), was a German immigrant who had come to California in 1850 with the Gold Rush and had later become a successful realtor in San Francisco. In 1877 she moved to Paris,while her four sisters were placed in schools in Germany and Switzerland. Dorothea studied at the University of Paris and started out also studying music, but later turned to astronomy. She received her degree in 1886. She died Oct. 5, 1942, after a long illness.
AT WORK
Her work consisted of measuring star positions, processing astrophotographs,
studying stellar spectra and meteorites.
Despite being a woman, and in the face of fierce competition from 50 men,
she secured the post of Director of the Bureau of Measurements (Bureau des Mesures) at the Paris Observatory.
Dorothea held this position for a decade and supervised several other women scientists during this time.
In 1896 she sailed to Norway to observe the solar eclipse of August 9, 1896 but it was not a success because of obscuring clouds.
She met up with Dr. Isaac Roberts, his future husband and pioneer in astrophotography.
Roberts had equipped his private observatory with whom she continued her research with more ease.
In 1889 she was one of the only female astronomer to observ the sgreat meteor shower.
In 1929 she published a comprehensive catalogue
of the survey "The Isaac Roberts Atlas of 52 Regions", a Guide to William Herschel's Fields of Nebulosity
HONOR
She was the first woman to awarded the degree of Docteur ès Sciences, she was elected a Chevalière de la Légion d'Honneur with the French President himself presenting the Cross.
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webography: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_klumpke