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Dorrit Hoffleit
Born	(1907-03-12)March 12, 1907 Florence, Alabama
Died	April 9, 2007(2007-04-09) (aged 100) New Haven, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Other names	Ellen Dorrit Hoffleit
Alma mater	Radcliffe College
Known for	Bright Star Catalog
Awards	Caroline Wilby Prize George Van Biesbroeck Prize (1988)
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy
Institutions	Harvard College Observatory, Ballistic Research Laboratory, Harvard University, Yale University, Maria Mitchell Observatory
Thesis	On the Spectroscopic Determination of Absolute Magnitudes, With Application to the Southern Stars of Types Later than A. (1938)
Doctoral advisor	Bart Bok

Ellen Dorrit Hoffleit (March 12, 1907 – April 9, 2007) was an American senior research astronomer at Yale University. She is best known for her work in variable stars, astrometry, spectroscopy, meteors, and the Bright Star Catalog. She is also known for her mentorship of many young women and generations of astronomers.

Life

Hoffleit's interest in astronomy began with the 1919 Perseid meteor shower that she saw with her mother. In 1928, she graduated cum laude with a B.A. in mathematics. She then went on to work for the Harvard College Observatory, searching for variable stars. In 1938, she was awarded a Ph.D. in astronomy from Radcliffe College and was subsequently hired, in 1948, as an astronomer at Harvard University. She remained at Harvard until 1956 when she moved to Yale University. She remained at Yale until retirement in 1975.

At Yale she followed in the footsteps of Ida Barney, taking over her astrometric work, and of whom she later wrote "To know was a pleasure, inspiration, and privilege, both at work and socially." Hoffleit also served as director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory on Nantucket Island from 1957 to 1978, where she ran summer programs (May–October) for more than 100 students, many of whom went on to successful careers in astronomy. In her final years at Yale, Hoffleit taught basic courses in astronomy to undergraduates. Her passionate lectures in Davies Hall, usually with over 100 students, inspired and awed them. She engendered a lifelong interest in astronomy for young women and men, many of whom were just satisfying a prerequisite to their undergraduate degrees.

During the mid 1950s, Hoffleit consulted for the U.S. Army's Ballistic Research Laboratories in "Doppler reductions".

She was the main editor of the Yale Bright Star Catalogue. The Catalogue is a compendium of information on the 9,110 brightest stars in the sky. She also co-authored The General Catalogue of Trigonometric Stellar Parallaxes, containing precise distance measurements to 8,112 stars, information critical to understanding the kinematics of the Milky Way galaxy and the evolution of the solar neighborhood. With Harlan J. Smith, Hoffleit discovered the optical variability of the first-discovered quasar 3C 273.

In 1988, Hoffleit was awarded the George Van Biesbroeck Prize by the American Astronomical Society for a lifetime of service to astronomy. On March 7-8, 1997, Yale University hosted a symposium in honor of Hoffleit's 90th birthday, dedicated to her nearly 70-year career.

Hoffleit turned 100 on March 12, 2007, and died a month later from complications of cancer.

See also

• Ida Barney
• Cora G. Burwell

References

1. Saladyga, Michael; Waagen, Elizabeth (2010-05-02). "In Memoriam: Dorrit Hoffleit | aavso.org". www.aavso.org.
2. ^ Dorrit Hoffleit (2002). MISFORTUNES AS BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE: The Story of My Life. American Association of Variable Star Observers. ISBN 978-1-878174-48-2.
3. Horch, Elliott (2007). "Hofflet, Ellen Dorrit". In Hockey, Thomas; Trimble, Virginia; Williams, Thomas R. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer Publishing. pp. 516–517. Bibcode:2007bea..book.....H. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_636. ISBN 978-0-387-30400-7. (subscription required)
4. Hoffleit, Dorritt (1931). "New Variable Stars in MWF 175". Bulletin of the Harvard College Observatory. 884 (10): 10. Bibcode:1931BHarO.884...10H.
5. Hoffleit, Ellen D. (1938). On The Spectroscopic Determination Of Absolute Magnitudes, With Application to Southern Stars Of Types Later Than A (Ph.D. thesis). Radcliffe College – via ProQuest.
6. Pearce, Jeremy (April 23, 2007). "Obituary: E. Dorrit Hoffleit, Scientist, Dies at 100". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
7. Hoffleit, E. Dorrit (June 1990), "Ida M. Barney, Ace Astrometrist" (PDF), STATUS: The Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy, American Astronomical Society, archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2016, retrieved 17 November 2012
8. Ballistic Research Laboratories. Ordnance Corps, Department of the Army. April 1955.
9. Smith, H. J. & Hoffleit, D. (1963). "Light Variations in the Superluminous Radio Galaxy 3C273". Nature. 198 (4881): 650. Bibcode:1963Natur.198..650S. doi:10.1038/198650a0. S2CID 4189751.
10. Philip, A.G. Davis; van Altena, William F.; Upgren, Arthur R. (1999). Anni Mirabiles: A Symposium Celebrating the 90th Birthday of Dorrit Hoffleit. Schenectady: L. Davis Press, Inc. ISBN 0933485239.
11. "Dorrit Hoffleit (1907 - 2007)". AAS Newsletter. May–June 2007.

Further reading

• "Bibliography: Dorrit Hoffleit". Women in Astronomy. Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 November 2012.

External links

• Dr. Dorrit Hoffleit, member of the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame
  • Bibliography from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
• Papers, 1906-2005. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
• Picture of Dorrit Hoffleit: https://web.archive.org/web/20140116114142/http://www.astro.yale.edu/vlg8/images/dorrit.jpg.jpeg
• E. Dorrit Hoffleit Papers (MS 1915). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.
• Michael Saladyga and Elizabeth Waagen, In Memoriam: Dorrit Hoffleit, on aavso.org.

• 1907 births
• 2007 deaths
• 20th-century American women scientists
• 20th-century American scientists
• 21st-century American women
• People from Florence, Alabama
• American astronomers
• American women centenarians
• American women astronomers
• Radcliffe College alumni
• Harvard University faculty
• Yale University faculty
• Harvard College Observatory people
• American women academics