Beryl H. Potter

Beryl H. Potter (September 16, 1900 – August 10, 1985), born Edna Beryl Hinkle, was an American astronomical researcher. She helped to discover asteroids and, in turn, an asteroid was named for her.

This article is about the American astronomical researcher. For the Canadian disability rights activist, see Beryl Potter.
Beryl H. Potter
A middle-aged white woman wearing glasses, seated at an astronomical device.
Beryl H. Potter using a blink comparator, from a 1955 newspaper.
Born
Edna Beryl Hinkle

September 16, 1900
Goldsmith, Indiana
DiedAugust 10, 1985
Frankfort, Indiana
OccupationAstronomical researcher
Known forAsteroid 1729 Beryl

Early life

Beryl Hinkle was born in Goldsmith, Indiana, the daughter of Edmond Isaac Hinkle and Blanche Adele Cross Hinkle.[1] Her father was a doctor.[2] She graduated from Goldsmith High School in 1917, and attended Indiana University.[3]

Career

Potter was a research assistant at Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana,[4] from 1942 to 1965.[5] She was assistant to astronomer Frank K. Edmondson when he discovered a dwarf star in 1944.[6][7] She analyzed thousands photographic plates using a device called a blink comparator,[8] and "contributed immensely to the program of minor planet observations".[9] In 1952, she helped to discover the asteroid named 1578 Kirkwood.[10] In 1955, she was part of an "all-Hoosier team" that discovered the asteroid named 1602 Indiana; "Mrs. Beryl Potter, research assistant, gets credit for the most important work, since she actually spotted the tiny planet among thousands of stars on photographic plates," explained a 1955 newspaper report.[11] An asteroid (1729 Beryl) was officially named in her honor in 1968,[12] by astronomer Paul Herget.[13]

Personal life

Beryl Hinkle married William N. Potter. They lived in Bloomington, Indiana, and had seven children. In 1936 she had serious health issues requiring more than a dozen blood transfusions.[14] She moved to West Lafayette, Indiana in 1975.[3] She died in 1985, aged 84 years, in Frankfort.[13]

References
  1. "Mrs. Blanche Hinkle". The Kokomo Tribune. 1970-05-13. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Goldsmith". The Tipton Daily Tribune. 1922-05-20. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Mrs. Beryl Potter". Journal and Courier. 1985-08-13. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Edmondson, F. K. (1951). "Research". The Astronomical Journal. 56: 154. Bibcode:1951AJ.....56..154E. doi:10.1086/106572.
  5. "West Lafayette". The Indianapolis News. 1985-08-14. p. 50. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "I. U. Professor Reports Finding Star Moving 155 Miles a Second". The Courier-Journal. 1944-02-07. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Hoosier Discovers Star 'Speed Demon', Traveling More than 500,000 M. P. H." The Indianapolis Star. 1944-02-06. p. 38. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Our Little Bit of Heaven". The Indianapolis Star. 1955-03-13. p. 128. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2013-11-11). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 218. ISBN 978-3-662-06615-7.
  10. "New Minor Planet Named for Pioneer Hoosier Scientist". Palladium-Item. 1952-03-23. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Astronomers Discover New Planet, Pick Name of Indiana". The Tipton Daily Tribune. 1955-02-10. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Planetary Names". The Terre Haute Tribune. 1968-06-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Beryl Potter" Physics Today (February 1986): 92.
  14. "Has Been Given 17 Blood Transfusions". The Kokomo Tribune. 1936-12-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-07-07 – via Newspapers.com.
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