Edith Kellman

American astronomer
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroAmerican astronomer
PlacesUnited States of America
wasAstronomer
Work fieldScience
Gender
Female
Birth4 April 1911, Walworth, Walworth County, Wisconsin, USA
Death11 May 2007Walworth, Walworth County, Wisconsin, USA (aged 96 years)
Star signAries
Education
Wheaton College
The details

Biography

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

Early life and education

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

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. After leaving the observatory, she taught mathematics at Williams Bay High School. 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.

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