Ada Margaret Brayton (December 27, 1885 – January 1975) was a life member of the American Astronomical Society, and co-author of the monumental book, Spectroscopic Absolute Magnitudes and Distances of 4719 Stars that increased the number of stars of known distance one hundred-fold.
Early life edit
Ada Margaret Brayton was born in Nebraska, the daughter of Franklin B. Brayton and Grace Treloar.[1]
Career edit
She was a member of the staff of Mount Wilson Observatory, the Astronomical Computer Department of stellar spectroscopy. She was a life member of the American Astronomical Society and member of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico.[1] In 1920 she found that the radial velocity of the star Boss 3644 was variable thanks to her measures of three spectrograms made with the 60-inch reflector and single prism spectrograph.[2] In 1935, Brayton, together with Walter Sydney Adams, Alfred H. Joy (1882-1973), and Milton La Salle Humason (1891-1972), published a monumental book, Spectroscopic Absolute Magnitudes and Distances of 4719 Stars that increased the number of stars of known distance by one hundred-fold.[3]
She was an accredited teacher, translator and interpreter of Spanish.[1]
She was the first vice-president of California Federation of Business & Professional Women's Clubs and president of Pasadena Business and Professional Women's Club from 1928 to 1929.[4][1][5]
She was the president of the Pasadena Chapter of the Grenfell Association of America.[1]
She was a member of the Lucretia Garfield Circle and the Ladies of G. A. R.[1]
Personal life edit
She lived at 469 Ladera Street, Pasadena, California,[1] with her brother, Wilbur Newman Brayton (died 1940), a veteran of World War I.[6]
Legacy edit
In 1924 The Ada Margaret Brayton Endowment Fund of $20,000.00 ($279,112.14 in 2017)[7] was established to be used for the best interest of the California Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. [8]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. p. 26. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Duncan, J. C. (1921). "No. 212. The spectroscopic binary Boss 3644 Virginis". Contributions from the Mount Wilson Observatory / Carnegie Institution of Washington. 212: 1. Bibcode:1921CMWCI.212....1D. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ Trimble, Virginia; Williams, Thomas R.; Bracher, Katherine; Jarrell, Richard; Marché, Jordan D.; Ragep, F. Jamil (2007). Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 14. ISBN 9780387304007. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Past State Presidents". CFBPW. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Women's Clubs Name Officers - 11 Sep 1928, Tue • Page 12". Oakland Tribune: 12. 1928. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Legion to Officiate at Veteran's Funeral - 29 Jun 1940, Sat • Page 15". The Los Angeles Times: 15. 1940. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "DollarTimes". Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ The business woman. San Francisco Business and Professional Women's Club. 1924. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
