Rosina Dafter

Rosina Dafter (née Fitton), FRAS (15 March 1875 - 9 June 1959) was an astronomer and the first Australian woman to be made a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. She re-discovered the Pons-Winnecke comet in 1927 and was responsible for the discovery of previously unobserved variable stars in the Carina constellation.[1][2][3][4]

Rosina Dafter
Born(1875-03-15)March 15, 1875
London, United Kingdom
DiedJune 9, 1959(1959-06-09) (aged 84)
NationalityAustralian

Life

Dafter was born in London to Margaret and Richard Fitton, a pianoforte maker. She was educated at Holy Trinity Church School in London and started work as a dress designer before her marriage to John Albert Dafter on 20 November 1898.[5] The couple arrived in Australia in 1910 and settled in Northgate with their two foster sons who were merchant mariners.

While she had an interest in stars from childhood and studied mathematics as a hobby, it was not until her arrival in Australia that Dafter sought advice and began teaching herself astronomy.[6]

In 1923, Dafter was elected a member of the British Astronomical Association which had a branch in New South Wales.[7] She was the southern observer for the Association for three decades, and was also a member of the New Zealand Astronomical Association and the American Association of Variable Star Observers.[8]

Dafter gathered the data for Brisbane as part of a larger research project involving Broken Hill and Japan that aimed to obtain simultaneous photometric data across the three sites.[9][10]

She also provided details of astronomical events to local newspapers, held public talks on Astronomy and was published in numerous journals.[11][12]

Dafter died in 1959.[13]

References
  1. "HOBBY BRINGS HONOUR". The Courier-mail. No. 1081. Queensland, Australia. 16 February 1937. p. 19. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Williams, Thomas R.; Saladyga, Michael (2011). Advancing Variable Star Astronomy: The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Cambridge University Press. p. 98.
  3. "Society Business: Fellows elected; Candidates proposed; Patronage granted to the Society; Coronation of, Ballot for seats to view procession". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 97. January 1937. Bibcode:1937MNRAS..97..155.. doi:10.1093/mnras/97.3.155.
  4. Church of England Parish Registers 1934-1906. London Metropolitan Archives. 5 May 1875.
  5. Church of England Parish Registers 1975-1931. London Metropolitan Archives.
  6. "At 79 she keeps an eve on 18 stars". The Courier-mail. Queensland, Australia. 12 May 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "WOMAN ASTRONOMER DISCOVERS NEW STAR". Barrier Miner. Vol. XLII, no. 12, 486. New South Wales, Australia. 30 May 1929. p. 2. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "At 79 she keeps an eve on 18 stars". The Courier-mail. Queensland, Australia. 12 May 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "ROYAL SOCIETY RECOGNITION". The Courier-mail. No. 1080. Queensland, Australia. 15 February 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Campbell, Leon (1935). "Monthly report of the American Association of Variable Star Observers". Popular Astronomy. 43: 223. Bibcode:1935PA.....43..223C. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. "ASTRONOMY". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 9 February 1933. p. 45. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "TALK ON ASTRONOMY". The Courier-mail. No. 2054. Queensland, Australia. 3 April 1940. p. 13. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens". Retrieved 20 January 2018.
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