Deborah Shapley
From the Editor: 4 opportunities in the spring and summer advanced the Project’s goal “to raise knowledge of Shapley’s legacy among general audiences and scholars.”
1. Shapley v Hubble: Rivalry and Dependence
This was the topic of a dinner lecture I presented at the Cosmos Club. Harlow Shapley and Edwin Hubble were bound together by history. They were opposites as people and scientists yet depended on each other’s work. Each of them individually makes a great story. But when I traced their intertwined lives, the contrasts grew even more interesting.
The main players in “Shapley v Hubble: Rivalry and Dependence” at the Cosmos Club on April 3. I thank the Club Science and Technology Committee and co-chairs Anjuli Benjamin and Steve Mackwell for hosting and organizing. (Some slides and narrative will be posted on this site.)
2. Science Philanthropy Alliance blog post
The Project was deemed worthy of a blog post for Science Philanthropy Alliance. The SPA is a network of almost 40 private philanthropies that aims to coordinate and increase funding for basic research. The SPA also “enables a science philanthropy community focused on networking, shared learning, and dynamic collaborations.” I thank SPA President Dr. France A. Córdova for suggesting the post and Communications Director Rose-Marie Brandwein for facilitating it. More on this influential organization is at https://sciencephilanthropyalliance.org .
3. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers
This definitive series invited me to write an expanded entry about Martha Betz Shapley for the Third Edition which Springer is assembling. My article describes her astronomical research, her security job at MIT and an incident when she was suspended due to Harlow’s public liberalism. Mrs. Shapley contributed to astronomy by facilitating the intellectual and cultural life of the Harvard College Observatory from 1921-1952 when Harlow was Director.
I am honored to work with Jennifer Lynn Bartlett, Horace H. Smith and Springer editors. The present edition is at https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7 Meanwhile, you may enjoy learning about Martha Shapley in my podcast with astronomy author Ron Voller on YouTube. Go here to https://harlowshapley.org/blog/2023/9/27/banggoestheuniverse-podcast-with-deborah-shapley
4. Fern Rusk Shapley Oral History
My great aunt Fern Rusk Shapley was an internationally reknowned expert on Italian and European painting. In the 1930s she worked with Bernard Berenson at ITatti. She brought this expertise to the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in 1943 as the major collections were being formed. Fern engaged or led innumerable projects to choose and document acquisitions. Fern was the wife of Harlow’s brother John Shapley, a specialist in Persian art.
Photo: National Gallery of Art archives.
In June I was interviewed for the NGA Oral History Program. In the NGA Archives I found wonderful photos and text gems. Such as this Resolution by Trustees of the NGA upon her death in 1984. It ends: “Her extensive knowledge, connoisseurship and appreciation of Western art, particularly of Italian painting set a curatorial standard of excellence for all time.” For Women’s History Month I posted more of Fern’s story under “Hidden Figure.” See https://www.facebook.com/groups/harlowshapleyproject/ .
Upcoming Science Page on Harlow Shapley (dot) org
The new page lists “Shapley’s Key Contributions to Science.” It may surprise you! Shapley pioneered the Cepheid-based ladder he climbed on to map the galaxy; Edwin Hubble climbed further on it to discover the universe. Shapley located our galaxy's center; he identified the stellar halo of our galaxy and found the Sculptor and Fornax white dwarf galaxies. He got ”galaxy” and “liquid water belt” into common use.
What I'm Reading
“Einstein’s War: How Relativity Conquered Nationalism and Shook the World” by Matthew Stanley. A terrific read on how Arthur S. Eddington made Albert Einstein into a worldwide icon for science and peace.
I found “Einstein - The Life and Times “ by Ronald W. Clark (Harper, 1971) definitive and fascinating. Amid the complexity of Einstein’s life and scientific work, the author tells about Einstein’s relations with Shapley.
Thank you for your interest!
