October 7, 1936

Catherine Stillman of the astronomy department reported on her experiences during the summer with the Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology eclipse expedition. The expedition chose to observe the total eclipse on June 19 from Siberia, as that offered the point of observation closest to the mid-point of the totality. Unable to join the expedition’s departure on April 8, Miss Stillman was obliged to depart several weeks later and to travel across the Soviet Union by herself. In her remarks she thanked Professor of Russian Nikander Strelsky for his intensive Russian language instruction and for “giving her a really useful vocabulary.”

The Miscellany News

Of the eight women among the expedition’s 20 members, Stillman and two research assistants at the Harvard Observatory—Henrietta Swope and Emily Hughes Boyce—were the only working astronomers.