Carleton Facts

This is just a page of a few interesting tidbits I have turned up over the years.

1. Did you know that in the the late nineteenth century Carleton was one of the leading producers of women astronomers? A lot of credit is given to the women's colleges such as Vassar for producing women astronomers before 1900 but Carleton deserves just as much. Before 1900 Carleton was one of the leading producers of women B.S. and M.A. in Astronomy. It was also tied as the largest producer of women Ph.D.s. Yes, Carleton did give out Ph.D.s in astronomery.

2. Sidney Carne Wolff, the current director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, went to Carleton and is currently a Trustee. Check out the yearbooks in the library to see some interesting photos. In an interview with her she explained the difficulties she had observing. Carleton of course had a curfew for women so special permission was required to do astronomical observing.

3.Between 1954 and 1965 Carleton had a CSA sponsored club called the Stargazers. They met to teach one another and practice using the eight inch scope. Apparently certification was required to get a key to the telescope and the club was one way of doing this. Their constitution and yearly reports to the CSA are available in the Carleton archives.

4. Anne Sewell Young, a carleton grad of 1892, was the only astronomer in the first fifty years of Carleton to be listed in Who's Who and one of three to be in American Men of Science. She eventually became the director of Mount Holyoke Observatory.

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This page was created on June 10, 1998 by Michele Nichols.