Jenkins, Louise Freeland

Born Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA, 5 July 1888

Died New Haven, Connecticut, USA, 9 May 1970

American astrometrist Louise Jenkins compiled a valuable catalog of stars within 10 parsecs of the Sun and edited the third edition of the Yale Bright Star Catalogue . Only 12 of the nearby stars are brighter than V = 6.5.

Jenkins attended Mount Holyoke College where she studied under professor Anne Young , earning her AB in 1911 and MA in 1917. Meanwhile, she was appointed as assistant in astronomy at Mount Holyoke, 1911-1913, computer at Allegheny Observatory, 1913-1915 (where Frank Schlesinger was then director), and instructor at Mount Holyoke, 1915-1920. From 1917 to 1920 Jenkins observed sunspots at the Mount Holyoke telescope, reporting her observations in Popular Astronomy. In 1919 she joined the American Association of Variable Star Observers [AAVSO]. With Young in 1920, Jenkins determined the proper motions of some 34 variable stars.

From 1920 to 1932