Phyllis Hayford Hutchings Explained

Phyllis Hayford Hutchings
Birth Date:	May 18, 1904
Birth Place:	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Death Date:	July 7, 1965
Death Place:	Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation:	Astronomer, engineer, college professor

Phyllis Hayford Hutchings (May 18, 1904 – July 7, 1965) was an American astronomer, engineer, and college professor. She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida, and at Whitman College in Washington.

Early life and education

Hayford was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of John Fillmore Hayford and Lucy Dalzell Stone Hayford. Her father was director of the College of Engineering at Northwestern University.^[1] She earned a degree in civil engineering from Northwestern University in 1926, and earned a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1932.^[2] Her dissertation was titled "The Galactic Rotation Effect in Open Clusters".^[3]

Career

Hayford worked at Lick Observatory from 1926 to 1937, in various positions, including assistant to Donald Howard Menzel,^[4] computer^[5] and research fellow.^{[6] [7]} Her work their often involved calculating the orbits of comets.^[8] She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida from 1935 to 1943, and at Whitman College in Washington from 1947 until her death in 1965.^[9] She also spoke to school and community groups about astronomy topics.^{[10] [11]}

Publications

• "A Brilliant Meteor" (1927)^[12]
• "Elements and ephemeris of Minor Planet 1929 PA" (1930, with Charlotte E. Moore)^[13]
• "Elements and ephemeris of Comet D 1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann)" (1930, with Claude M. Anderson Jr.)^[14]
• "Observations of Comet B 1929 (Neujmin) and of minor planets" (1930, with C. J. Krieger, N. T. Bobrovnikoff, F. L. Whipple, and Charlotte E. Moore)^[15]
• "A study of galactic rotation with special reference to the radial velocities of the galactic star clusters" (1932)^[16]
• "Occultation of an 8.9 Magnitude Star by Jupiter" (1933)^[17]
• "Observations of Eros made at the Lick Observatory during the opposition of 1931, with a preliminary determination of the solar parallax" (1937, with R. J. Trumpler, F. J. Neubauer, C. E. Smith, and K. P. Kaster)

Personal life

Hayford married mathematician William Lawrence Hutchings in 1934; they had a daughter, Lucy, born in 1938. Phyllis Hutchings died in 1965, at the age of 61, while she was teaching a summer course in Lawrence, Kansas.^{[18] [19] [20]}

Notes and References

1. 1925 . Obituary: John Fillmore Hayford . Geographical Review . 15 . 3 . 500–500 . 0016-7428.
2. Web site: Celestial Observers: First Sixteen Berkeley Women Doctoral Graduates in Astronomy 1913-1952 . 2024-10-20 . 150 Years of Women at Berkeley . en.
3. Hayford . Phyllis . The Galactic Rotation Effect in Open Clusters. . 1932-01-01 .
4. Aitken . R. G. . 1926 . Personal Notes . Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . 38 . 225 . 334–335 . 0004-6280.
5. Aitken, R. G. "Personal Notes-Lick Observatory" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 45 (1933): 262.
6. News: June 5, 1935 . Californians Join Faculty . The Orlando Sentinel . 10 . Newspapers.com.
7. https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1931PASP...43..223A "Fellows and Assistants at the Lick Observatory for the Year 1931-1932"
8. News: May 29, 1930 . New Comet to Make Closest Approach to Earth in June . Sotoyome Scimitar . 5 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
9. Web site: Phyllis Hayford (Hutchings). 2024-10-20 . 150 Years of Women at Berkeley Astronomy: Early Stars.
10. News: May 18, 1937 . Topics . Orlando Evening Star . 4 . Newspapers.com.
11. News: April 20, 1959 . AAUW to Hear Astronomy Prof . Tri-City Herald . 1 . Newspapers.com.
12. Hayford, Phyllis. "A Brilliant Meteor" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 39 (1927): 252.
13. Moore, Charles E., and Phyllis Hayford. "Elements and ephemeris of Minor Planet 1929 PA" Lick Observatory Bulletin, vol. 15, pp. 22-23 15 (1930): 22-23.
14. Hayford, Phyllis, and Claude Matthews Anderson. "Elements and ephemeris of Comet D 1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann)" Lick Observatory Bulletin 15 (1930): 43-45.
15. Krieger, Charles John, Nicholas Theodore Bobrovnikoff, Fred Lawrence Whipple, Charlotte Emma Moore, and Phyllis Hayford. "Observations of Comet B 1929 (Neujmin) and of minor planets" Lick Observatory Bulletin 15 (1930): 20-23.
16. Hayford, Phyllis. "A study of galactic rotation with special reference to the radial velocities of the galactic star clusters" Lick Observatory Bulletin 16 (1932): 53-75.
17. Hayford, Phyllis. "Occultation of an 8.9 Magnitude Star by Jupiter" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 45 (1933): 151.
18. News: October 21, 1965 . Memorial Rites held for Dr. Phyllis Hutchings . Lehi Free Press . 7 . Newspapers.com.
19. 1965-07-30 . Announcements . Science . en . 149 . 3683 . 526–570 . 10.1126/science.149.3683.526 . 0036-8075.
20. News: July 8, 1965 . Mrs. Hutchings Dies of Attack . Spokane Chronicle . 6 . Newspapers.com.