Marian Alberta Hawes Henry (September 8th, 1893 - December 11, 1968) was an astronomer and professor who worked at the Harvard College Observatory from 1912-1918 and later taught at several institutions throughout the United States.

Alberta began work at the Harvard College Observatory in 1912 while attending Radcliffe College. In addition to her observing and measurements work, Alberta assisted Annie Jump Cannon in preparing the Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College for publication.¹ Alberta spent much of the summer of 1918 observing in Sherborne, Mass, using the 5" Equatorial.²

Alberta worked at the HCO until 1918 when she took an Assistant position with the Leander McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. At the time, she was one of only three women working in the Astronomy Department.³ After taking time off to recover from eye strain,⁴ Alberta took a position as Assistant in Astronomy and Math at Vassar College in 1920. Alberta continued working at Vassar for the next 11 years, being promoted to Instructor in 1921 and Assistant Professor in 1926. Hawes took a leave of absence from Vassar in 1928 to study at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where she received her PhD in 1929. Alberta’s examination included the fields of Astronomy, Mathematics and Physics.⁵ Her dissertation, centered on Astrophysics, was titled “A Study of the Variation in Wave Length of Individual Lines, with Spectral Class from F to K.”⁶ That same year, she received a fellowship from the American Association of University Women, Boston.

Marian Alberta Hawes was born in Cambridge on September 8, 1892 to Albert H. and Marion E. Hawes⁷ and for much of her life went by the name Alberta. Alberta grew up in Cambridge. She graduated from the Harvard Grammar School in 1905⁸, and was Salutatorian of her class at the Cambridge Latin School when she graduated in 1910.⁹ Later that year, Alberta entered Radcliffe College where, in addition to her studies in mathematics and astronomy, she took courses in general physics and chemistry. In 1914, Alberta received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe. Her thesis was titled “The Stereocomparator and Its Use in the Determination of Proper Motion.”¹⁰ In 1917, Alberta became a charter member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).¹¹

In 1932, Alberta received the Mary W. Whitney and Observator Funds Research Fellowship in Astronomy for study at the Detroit Observatory of the University of Michigan,¹² the result of which was her work “A Study of Four Be Stars” that appeared in Publications of the Vassar College Observatory in 1934.¹³ After her fellowship ended, Alberta took a teaching position at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida from 1933-35.¹⁴ On June 30, 1935, Alberta married fellow astronomer William Henry in Cambridge.¹⁵ By that time, both she and William were living in New York. William was a commercial photographer and considered himself an amateur astronomer, despite the fact that at the time of his death in 1944, he was the chairman of the department of astronomy at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.¹⁶

Alberta took work as a private tutor from 1936 to 1941.¹⁷ She was appointed to the faculty of Wilson College for 1942-43 as an Instructor in Mathematics and Astronomy.¹⁸ In 1944, at age 50, Marian applied to a teaching position at The Brearley School in New York. In a letter to the offices at Radcliffe College, Marian requested that her transcripts be given in reference but with her graduating year omitted as she did not want her age to be a determining factor in her application. She noted that “...if [hiring staff at Brearley] met me I am sure they would not put me at a day over thirty...Where I am teaching now...the principal said ‘I wouldn't take anybody who is a day over 35 and I am sure you are nowhere near 35.’”¹⁹ From 1944-1961, Alberta was a mathematics teacher at Brooklyn College.²⁰

Following a brief illness, Marian Alberta Hawes Henry died at her home in Framingham, Massachusetts on December 11, 1968 and her remains were cremated at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.

Written by Meta Partenheimer, 2022

Hawes only utilized one professional title for her work while at Harvard, on a City directory. She refers to herself as an “Asst. at H U Observatory” or, an assistant at the Harvard College Observatory.

For questions on any particular Women Astronomical Computer’s titles please consult their bio page. If no terminology information is listed, feel free to email us!

Selected Publications:

Hawes, Marian Alberta. “Measurement widths of A + B stars.” Project PHAEDRA: Preserving Harvard's Early Data and Research in Astronomy (1922). https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1922phae.proj..916H.

Fairfield, Priscilla and Alberta Hawes. “The Relation of Hydrogen Line-Widths to Absolute Magnitude for Class A Stars.” Harvard College Observatory Circular 264 (1924): 1-8. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1924HarCi.264....1F.

Hawes, Marian Alberta. “A Study of Variation in Wave Length of Individual Lines, withSpectral Class from F to K.” University of Michigan (1929). Hawes, M. Alberta. “Sun Dogs and Halos Observed.” Popular Astronomy 40 (1932): 377..
https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1932PA.....40..377H.

Hawes, M. Alberta. “A Study of Four Be Stars.” Publications of the Vassar College Observatory 4 (1934): 25–60. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1934PVasO...4...25H.

Hawes, M. Alberta. “Notes on Four Be Stars.” Edited by Raymond S. Dugan and Dean B. McLaughlin. Publications of the American Astronomical Society 8 (1936): 10. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1936PAAS....8R..10H.

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