Annie Jump Cannon

Annie Jump Cannon (December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was a deaf American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of the Harvard Classification Scheme, which was the first serious attempt to organize and classify stars based on their temperatures and spectral types. During her 44-year career, women in science won grudging acceptance, partially due to her exemplary work. She received many “firsts” (first female recipient of an honorary doctorate from Oxford, first elected woman officer of the American Astronomical Society, etc.). In 1911 she was named Curator of Astronomical Photographs at HCO. In 1938, two years before retirement, she finally obtained a regular appointment from Harvard as William C. Bond Astronomer.

To learn more about Cannon, read about her astronomical work at the telescope and spectroscope, and her mentoring of the observatory staff.

Select Publications

Cannon, Annie Jump. 1918. The Henry Draper Catalog,. With Edward C. (Edward Charles) Pickering. Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College ; v. 91-99. The Observatory. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100322598.

Cannon, Annie. J. 1936. “The Henry Draper Extension.” Annals of Harvard College Observatory 100 (January): 1–226.

Cannon, Annie Jump. 1949. The Annie J. Cannon Memorial Volume of the Henry Draper Extension [Charts]. With Margaret W. Mayall and Margaret W. Mayall. Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College ; v. 112. The Observatory.

Research Sources

PhAEDRA Notebooks

Harvard College Observatory observations, logs, instrument readings, and calculations

Annie Jump Cannon Notebooks, 1896-1940

Harvard Collections

A search of “Annie Jump Cannon” in Hollis for Archival Discovery, limited to ‘Collections’ (filtering by type of result):

The Papers of Annie Jump Cannon

COLLECTION Identifier: HUGFP 125

“The collection documents both the personal and professional life of Annie Jump Cannon, the first astronomer to systematically classify the stars. It contains diaries, autobiographical writings, correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs, relating to her life and career.”

Relevance and Research note: Includes her Guest Book for the visitors of the HCO and Plate Stacks who came to Tea. Includes diaries and correspondence with and by her mother, Elizabeth Jump Cannon.

Margaret Mayall personal archive

COLLECTION Identifier: HUM 294

“This collection contains 35 black and white photographs, which depict the Harvard College Observatory staff camping in southeastern Maine to watch the total solar eclipse on August 31, 1932. Also includes Mayall’s 1957 G. Bruce Blair Award and a copy of Mayall’s 1970 Manual for Observing Variable Stars, revised edition.”

Relevance Note: Mayall was one of Cannon’s assistants on the Catalogue and first extension, and prepared the second extension for publication following Cannon’s death.

Papers of Dorrit Hoffleit, 1902-2005

COLLECTION Identifier: MC 529

“Papers of Dorrit Hoffleit, astronomer at Harvard and Yale Universities and at the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket.”

Relevance Note: Listed among the subjects for this collection is “Cannon, Annie Jump, 1863-1941”. The two women overlapped at Harvard for about 14 years.

Records of the Harvard College Observatory Director Edward Charles Pickering

COLLECTION Identifier: UAV 630.14

“Pickering’s records as Observatory Director, consisting chiefly of correspondence, document the research activities and administration of the Harvard College Observatory from 1854 to 1926.

Relevance Note: Present in the search results because Annie Jump Cannon is mentioned in the Historical Note for the Collection. She’s also in Related Archives for her Papers collection. They overlapped at HCO for 14 years.

Papers of Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin, 1924, circa 1950s-1990s, 2000

COLLECTION Identifier: HUGB P182.XX

“Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979), Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University (1956-1966) was a pioneer in astrophysics and a leading authority on variable stars.”

Relevance Note: Present in search results because Payne-Gaposchkin won the inaugural Annie J Cannon Prize, recognizing women in Astronomy, in 1933. She and Cannon overlapped at HCO for about 17 years. She is mentioned a few times in Payne-Gaposchkin’s autobiography.

Records of Harvard College Observatory Director Harlow Shapley

COLLECTION Identifier: UAV 630.22

The records document Shapley’s tenure as director and primarily consist of his incoming and outgoing correspondence files. The letters, including three volumes of outgoing correspondence, relate to Observatory operations, research, and activities. Also letters to many women scientists and students, many of whom Shapley hired to work at the Observatory.

Relevance Note: Present in search results because Annie Jump Cannon is mentioned in Historical note. However, they overlapped at HCO for about 19 years and several objects in his collection relate to a Memorial for her.

Wellesley College Archives

Alumnae Class of 1884 - Alumnae: Annie Jump Cannon, 1977-1990. Box: 1, Folder: 8.

Two letters in the Autographed letters Collection. Box: 2, Folder: 4 and Folder: 5.

Photographs

Photographic views of the Harvard College Observatory . Group Photograph - 1910. HUV 1210. Box: 2, Folder: 26. Also present/notable in photograph - Williamina Fleming, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Margaret Harwood, Florence Cushman, Mollie O’Reilly, Sarah F. Whiting Solon Bailey, E.C. Pickering, Edward Skinner King.

1913, Standing with Henrietta Swan Leavitt

1916, Meeting of the AAVSO. Also notable in photograph: Ida Wood, Leon Campbell, and E.C. Pickering.

1918, “Paper Doll” Image

1925 Group Photo, Women Astronomical Computers

1932 Small Group Photo. Also present in photograph: Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Leon Campbell, Donald Menzel, Fred Whipple

Wellesley University - JSTOR

Cannon, while at school, looking at Telescope

Cannon, while at school, in Sarah F. Whiting’s physics class -

Cannon, while at school, Portrait

Cannon at home

A Later Portrait

Popular Media & Commemoration

The Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy is given by the American Astronomical Society for outstanding research and promise for future research by a postdoctoral woman researcher.

Children's Book - Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer by Carole Gerber-

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annie_Jump_Cannon_Astronomer/Z45v7…

Moon Crater named in her honor.

Her likeness on a 1$ Coin.

COSMOS Episode, and Wonder Women of History Article.

An Exhibit at the Harvard University Archives, 1978:

Highlights of an Exhibit to Honor Annie Jump Cannon

Written by Welther, B. L.

Published in The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers,vol. 7, no. 2, p. 85-87

She published a book of prose and pictures after her trip to Spain in 1893. It was used as promotional material for the camera, the Blair Kamaret, at the 1893 World's Fair.

In the Footsteps of Columbus by Annie J. Cannon.

Pub. 1893