Bang! Goes The Universe: Martha Shapley - Mount Wilson Astronomer

Martha Betz Shapley (1890 - 1981) was the wife of Harlow Shapley (1885 - 1972). Deborah Shapley, a granddaughter of Martha and Harlow, recently spoke with Ron Voller on his podcast Bang! Goes the Universe.

Voller is the author of books on Milton Humason and Edwin Hubble.* He knows a lot about the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1914 - 1921 when Harlow Shapley made his name as a young astronomer there. But Voller like many others wants to know more about the women who worked for that observatory. Harlow’s wife Martha is among the least-known.

Voller interviewed Deborah about her grandmother’s life and scientific work in this period. The interview is based on Deborah’s article Martha Shapley - Astronomer on this blog in May. The blog article and Voller’s Bang! podcast are the first discussion of Martha as an early female contributor at Mount Wilson.

Video podcast (58 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqvmJyRn5g.
Audio at https://banggoestheuniverse.buzzsprout.com/

Here are a few highlights about Martha’s work, the lower status of women and how historians can shed more light on men’s and womens’ collaborations in astronomy. The full podcast has much more - Gregg shorthand, Chinese!

“My biggest surprise was how much she published from 1914-21 while having three children.” Deborah says. Martha has 14 bylined papers. She is sole author of seven. On the other seven she is second author to Harlow, including Papers XIII and XIV (1919) in his series that revealed our galaxy’s true structure.

Martha Betz’ family of German heritage instilled a love of learning. She started towards a PhD in Teutonic languages but left to marry Harlow and move to Pasadena. What about her shift to the computational side of astronomy? Being brilliant, she made many contributions at Mount Wilson and later. But did she regret not having a Ph.D?

“She was not self-important. She didn’t seek the spotlight..” “Her natural shyness made her an ideal companion to her outgoing and famous husband.” - Deborah on her grandmother Martha Shapley.

Mount Wilson’s Director G.E. Hale banned employment of a woman married to a staff member. So Martha could not have a job there. Women were not allowed to observe through the telescopes. So “What path was there for her to advance in astronomy there,” Deborah asked?

“Change was so gradual,” Voller said. “It wasn’t like flipping a switch.”

E. C. Pickering at Harvard College Observatory began hiring women as computers in the 1880s. Some became pathbreaking astronomers by 1906 when at Hale at Mount Wilson hired the first woman computer, Louise Ware.

Mount Wilson remained “old school” into the twenties. As Director at Harvard from 1921 Shapley hired women to do original research and work toward advanced degrees. Adelaide Ames and he compiled the definitive catalog of the brightest galaxies, for example.

What is liberal by the standards of their time? Deborah said Shapley and his generation were men of the late 19th century. The Wright brothers made the first heavier-than-air flight in 1903. Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled out in 1908, when Harlow had not even graduated from college.

“When we find them doing things we like today, we think they are like us. But they’re not!” Deborah said.

Once the Shapleys moved into the Director’s Residence in 1921 Martha published some more. But “she had little time” for research, Deborah said. They soon had five children; she assisted Harlow’s activities and organized the teas and parties with staff and distinguished guests that became a hallmark of the Shapley era at HCO. (From 1942 Martha held a classified job at MIT and later resumed eclipsing binary work, a phase not covered here.)

Deborah said, “Martha contributed to astronomy through her intellectual and managerial gifts. She enabled Harlow’s huge career and raised their children with her values. She was a stimulating companion to many students and other scientists.” “As First Lady, she was not just pouring tea.”

Martha and Harlow Shapley’s children:

Mildred Shapley Matthews 1915 - 2016

Willis Harlow Shapley 1917 - 2005

Alan Horace Shapley 1919 - 2006

Lloyd Stowell Shapley 1923-2016

Carl Betz Shapley 1927-2012

“

"Martha Shapley’s early work and papers at Mount Wilson added to the field. She contributed, by intellect and temperament to the values of their five children, to her husband, and to hundreds of students, scientists, women and men whom she welcomed to the Harvard Observatory’s Director’s Residence. She was curious; she knew what they were talking about. To me, this is a contribution to astronomy.”
— Deborah Shapley