Edith Kellman

Edith Kellman (April 4, 1911, Walworth, Wisconsin – May 11, 2007, Walworth, Wisconsin[1]) was a noted American astronomer who is known for her work on the Yerkes system of stellar classification, also called the MKK system.

Edith Kellman
BornApril 4, 1911
DiedMay 11, 2007
EducationWheaton College
Known forMKK system of stellar classification
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy

Early life and education

Edith Kellman was born on April 4, 1911, in Walworth, Wisconsin to Ludvig and Ellen Levander Kellman.[1] Kellman attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.[2]

Career

Kellman worked at the Yerkes Observatory as a photographic assistant, where she worked with William Morgan and Philip Keenan to develop the Yerkes system, an influential system of stellar classification. The MKK classification system was introduced in 1943 and was used by Morgan, Keenan, and Kellman to map the spiral structure of the Milky way using O and B stars. A variation on this system is still used today in stellar classification.[3]

After leaving the observatory, she taught mathematics at Williams Bay High School until her retirement in the 1970s.[2]

References
  1. "Edith M. Kellman". Find a Grave. May 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. Long, Jeff (14 May 2007). "Edith M. Kellman: 1911 - 2007: Teacher played key role in astronomers' work". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  3. John Daintith; E Tootill; D Gjertsen; S Mitchell, eds. (1994). Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 9780750302876.


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