Anne Walker (astronomer)
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Anne Walker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 October 1863 Wickham Market, Suffolk, England |
| Died | 2 March 1940 (aged 76) Glen Huntly, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupations | |
| Employer | Cambridge Observatory |
Anne (also, Annie) Walker (21 October 1863 – 2 March 1940) was a British astronomer and one of the first—probably the first[1]—women employed in paid routine work in astronomy in her country.[2] She was one of a number of women computers employed at Cambridge Observatory between 1882 and 1903. Unlike most of these women, Walker remained at the observatory for a significant period of time.[1]
Walker was born at Wickham Market, Suffolk on 21 October 1863, the daughter of a mill owner.[1][3] After attending boarding school in Cambridge,[1] she was employed by the observatory in 1882 at the age of 19, and remained there for 21 years, working under astronomers John Couch Adams and Robert Stawell Ball. She worked most directly with the observatory's senior assistant at the time, Andrew Graham. The observatory necessitated that only two observers worked at any one time. Up until 1892, Walker substituted for Graham's assistant Henry Todd when Todd's ill health prevented him from observing.[3] That Walker was making transit observations with the meridian circle in the mid-1880s is clear from an observatory report that stated her work was interrupted by an earth tremor on 22 April 1884, when she had to stop while wires in the eyepiece vibrated.[4] From 1892, Walker became Graham's observation partner and from 1894 to 1896, she observed alone.[3][5]
