Williamina Fleming

Williamina Fleming
Fleming, c. 1890s
Born	Williamina Paton Stevens (1857-05-15)15 May 1857 Dundee, Scotland
Died	21 May 1911(1911-05-21) (aged 54) Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Nationality	Scottish
Alma mater	None
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy
Institutions	Harvard College Observatory
Signature

Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming (15 May 1857 – 21 May 1911) was a Scottish astronomer. She was a single mother hired by the director of the Harvard College Observatory to help in the photographic classification of stellar spectra. She helped develop a common designation system for stars and cataloged more than ten thousand stars, 59 gaseous nebulae, over 310 variable stars, and 10 novae and other astronomical phenomena. Among several career achievements that advanced astronomy, Fleming is noted for her discovery of the Horsehead Nebula in 1888.^[1]