Klumpke Roberts, Dorothea

BornSan Francisco, California, USA, 9 August 1861

DiedSan Francisco, California, USA, 5 October 1942

Dorothea Klumpke Roberts headed the Paris Observatory’s Bureau of Measurements for the Carte du Ciel project, and also published the photographic Isaac Roberts Atlas of 52 Regions.

Dorothea Klumpke and her four sisters (all of whom became distinguished in their own fields) were educated in California and then in Paris. She received a BS in mathematics and mathematical astronomy from the University of Paris in 1886, and in 1893 became the first woman to receive the degree Doctor of Science there. Her dissertation was a mathematical study of the rings of Saturn.

In 1887, Klumpke began work at the Paris Observatory, measuring star positions on photographic plates. When the Paris Observatory was assigned a large section of the sky to be photographed for the Carte du Cielproject, she was appointed to head the Bureau of Measurements, and from 1891 to 1901 she carried out this task so well...