Mary Doris Beach (née Applegate) (1896-1954) was an Academic Fellow and worked at the Harvard College Observatory from 1918-1921.

Beach was a recipient of the Charles S. Hinchman Fellowship in Astronomy, through the Maria Mitchell Association of Nantucket. Her primary work consisted of the “measurement of the photographic magnitudes of stars and asteroids under the direction of Miss H.S. Leavitt.” In 1919, she was “engaged upon measures of variable stars in the region covered by plates of Harvard Map 2”, and had discovered the variability of a specific star. ¹ On occasion, she was called upon to measure specific magnitudes in order to double-check the measurements by other astronomers in the field, one instance related to the asteroid Eros. ²Each successive fellow, including Beach, also undertook efforts to consolidate the work of their predecessors.³

Beach was born in East Windsor Township, Mercer, New Jersey in 1896. Her father was a farmer.⁴ She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor's Degree. She was involved in some capacity working with the Red Cross before coming to Harvard. ⁵ After Harvard, Beach married and settled with her husband in New York and had three children, Robert, William, and Mary.⁶ She passed away in 1954 at the age of 57.⁷

Written by Samantha Notick, 2022

Citations:

^{1Cannon, Annie J., “Report of the Astronomical Fellowship Committee”, Annual Report of the Maria Mitchell Association, vol. 20 (1922): 14-15, https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1922MMAAR..20...14C ↩
2Harwood, Margaret, “Report of the Director of the Observatory”, Annual Report of the Maria Mitchell Association, Vol. 19 (1921): 18-20 https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1921MMAAR..19...18H↩
3Cannon, Annie J., “Report of the Astronomical Fellowship Committee”, Annual Report of the Maria Mitchell Association, vol. 20 (1922): 14-15, https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1922MMAAR..20...14C ↩
4“1940 United States Federal Census” U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com. July 2022
New York Department of Health; Albany, NY; NY State Death Index↩
5“The Fifth General Catalogue of the Officers an Almunae of Vassar College” Vassar College Bulletin vol. IX No. 3 (May, 1920): 210, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.3901507593316↩
6“1940 United States Federal Census” U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com. July 2022↩
7-New York Department of Health; Albany, NY; NY State Death Index↩}