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Maria Mitchell was the first famous female astronomer in the United states. Ever since Maria was younger she was interested in learning and had a knack for science at an early age. He father, William Mitchell, approved of this because he also was interested in science. He was an astronomer. The first time she began to adore astronomy was when she helped her father built a small observatory. She had many things going for her like becoming a librarian, working with her father at a bank but, science was the one thing she enjoyed and wanted to pursue the most.
Marie Mitchell was born and raised in Nantucket, Massachusetts on August 1st, 1887 and died June 28th, 1889. She was raised by her Quaker parents William Mitchell and Lydia Coleman. Her parents highly valued education and wanted her to receive the same education that boys receive. She was the third born of ten children. Throughout her life she attended private schools, such as North Grammar school, where her father was the first principle. He taught her everything she needed and wanted to know about astronomy first hand using his very own telescope.
Marie Mitchell accomplished many things in her life. The one accomplishment she was praised for most was her discovery of the “Miss Mitchell Comet.” In 1847 Maria was sitting in her fathers observatory and was observing the sky through her fathers telescope when she spotted a blurry light in the sky. She right away knew it couldn’t have been a star the only other thing she could have said was a comet. She began to write down the coordinates of the comet and had them sent to the King of Denmark. The King of Denmark gave out a gold medal to any person who shows him evidence that has discovered a comet seen only through a telescope. One other person discovered that same comet a few days after Maria. It was a man named Francesco de Vico. There was a controversy at first because none knew who should get the medal Francesco de Vico or...