Édmée Chandon
Édmée Marie Juliette Chandon (21 November 1885 – 8 March 1944) was an astronomer known for being the first professional female astronomer in France. She worked at the Paris Observatory from 1908 until her retirement in 1941.
Édmée Chandon | |
---|---|
Born | Édmée Marie Juliette Chandon 21 November 1885 Paris, France |
Died | 8 March 1944 58) Paris, France | (aged
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions | Paris Observatory |
Biography
The eldest of five children, Chandon was born to Marie Duhan and merchant François Chandon on 21 November 1885 in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.[1][2] In July 1906, she completed her degree in Mathematical Sciences at the Faculté des sciences de Paris.[2] She began working at the Paris Observatory in November 1908 as a trainee,[3] where she met Jacques Jean Trousset after he joined her team in January 1909.[4] They married on 6 April 1910 in Saint-Cloud but the marriage was short-lived; the pair divorced on 26 April 1911.[2][5]
On 28 February 1912, Chandon was appointed aide astronome et attachée at the Paris Observatory, effective from 1 March, and the appointment made her the first professional female astronomer in France. L'Aurore declared the appointment a "new feminist victory".[6] Chandon represented the Paris Observatory at the Fête du Soleil, organised by the Société astronomique de France, at the Eiffel Tower on 22 June 1914.[7] In March 1930, Chandon defended her thesis "Research on the tides of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez",[8] where she shows that the tides of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez are examples of standing waves. She retired on 1 October 1941.[2][note 1] On 17 May 1943, the French Academy of Sciences proposed four candidates to the Minister of National Education for positions as titular astronomers of Paris Observatory, including Chandon.[10]
Chandon died at her home in Paris on 8 March 1944.[11] After it was discovered in 1935, asteroid 1341 Edmée was named in her honour.[2]
Notes
- On 11 October 1940, a law was introduced requiring women over the age of 50 to retire.[9]
References
- "1885, Naissances, 11 (5577)" (in French). Paris Archives. 24 November 1885. p. 8. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- "CHANDON, Edmée, Marie Juliette, épouse TROUSSET (1885-1944)" (PDF) (in French). Haute-Provence Observatory. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- "Rapport annuel sur l'état de l'Observatoire de Paris" (in French). Paris Observatory. 1908. p. 26. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- "Rapport annuel sur l'état de l'Observatoire de Paris" (in French). Paris Observatory. 1909. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- Étude généalogique J. d'Enfert
- "Nouvelle Victoire féministe". L'Aurore (in French). 9 March 1912. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- "Astronomes et artistes fêtent le Soleil". Le Petit Parisien (in French). 23 June 1914. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- Leloup, Juliette. L'entre-deux-guerres mathématique à travers les thèses soutenues en France (PDF) (Thesis) (in French). Pierre and Marie Curie University. p. 117. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- Christine Fauré (2 June 2004). Political and Historical Encyclopedia of Women. Routledge. p. 595. ISBN 978-1-135-45691-7.
- "Académie des sciences: une astronome titulaire à l'observatoire de Paris". NuméroJournal des débats politiques et littéraires (in French). 19 May 1943. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- "1944, Décès, 14 (1461)" (in French). Paris Archives. 10 March 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 12 September 2018.