Harvard College Observatory photographs and programs from scientific conferences and meetings

The Harvard College Observatory was founded in 1839 by the Harvard Corporation after decades of attempts to develop an observatory at Harvard University. Under the Observatory's first two directors, William Cranch Bond and his son, George Phillips Bond, the Observatory began an extensive study of the Orion Nebula and Saturn, discovering the eighth satellite of Saturn, Hyperion in 1848; and the dark inner ring of Saturn (the Crepe Ring) in 1850. Pioneers in astrophotography, the Bonds produced the first recognizable daguerreotype of the Moon and the star Vega in 1850; and the first photographic print of the Moon in 1857. The Observatory became the world's foremost producer of stellar spectra and magnitudes, established an observing station in Peru, and applied mass-production techniques to the analysis of data during the directorship of Edward C. Pickering from 1877 to 1919. Harlow Shapley, director of the Observatory in the 1950s, expanded the scope of the Observatory's galactic research tracking minor planets and asteroids in the Solar System and increasing its telescopic power with the establishment of the Oak Ridge station, also known as the George R. Agassiz Station, in Harvard, Massachusetts. In the 1960s and 1970s, Observatory directors Donald H. Menzel and Leo Goldberg maintained programs in solar and stellar astrophysics and space astronomy. In 1973, the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (founded in 1890) merged to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The Center is a research institute that carries on studies in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education.

The Astronomische Gesellschaft is a German astronomical society established in 1863, in Heidelberg, Germany, by twenty-six individuals, including the astronomers Friedrich Wihelm Argelander, Karl Christian Bruhns, Wilhem Foerster, and Johan Zollner. Motivation to establish the organization originated with a group of astronomers at the University of Bonn, with the initial aim to track the increasing number of identified minor planets. By 1867, Astronomische Gesellschaft had implemented a program for identifying the accurate positions of stars. This organization collaborated with international observatories and research institutions to catalog observations of stars, working with approximately twenty observatories in Europe and the United States, including astronomers at the Harvard College Observatory. By 1865, Astronomische Gesellschaft began a significant project which included collecting meridian circle observations of stars from geographically dispersed observatories, which Harvard contributed to by supplying data for southern-hemisphere stars. Since its founding in 1863, the organization has held meetings biannually in various cities across Europe to coordinate research and discuss topics in astronomy.

Edward Charles Pickering (1846-1919), a physicist and astronomer, was the director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1876 to 1919, as well as Phillips Professor of Astronomy and Geodesy (1876-1887) and Paine Professor of Practical Astronomy (1887-1919). Under Pickering's leadership, the Harvard College Observatory created the world's largest programs in photometric, photographic, and spectroscopic stellar research. Pickering was an early proponent of astrophotography and supervised the assembly of an extensive library of photographic plates of stellar spectra, called the Henry Draper Memorial. Other principal achievements at the Harvard College Observatory under Pickering's directorship were the establishment of an observing station in Arequipa, Peru, to achieve worldwide coverage of the sky, and the employment of women to carry out the Observatory's photographic and spectroscopic programs. In his time serving as director, Pickering notably employed over eighty women who cataloged and devised classification systems for stars, many of whom developed scientific careers and made impactful discoveries in the field of astronomy. Pickering additionally participated in scientific organizations in his career and was particularly active in the development of the American Astronomical Society, contributing to drafts of its constitution and serving as president of the organization from 1905 to 1919 where he sought to improve professional opportunities for astronomers.

Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941) was the first astronomer to systematically classify the stars. She classified stars according to their stellar spectra using a procedure developed by Williamina Fleming. Cannon is credited with classifying 400,000 stellar bodies and discovering more than 300 variable stars, 5 novae, and one spectroscopic binary.

After earning a B.S. at Wellesley College in 1884, Cannon spent the next ten years both at home and travelling abroad. She returned to Wellesley in 1894 for graduate study in mathematics, physics, and astronomy, and She became interested in stellar spectra while studying under Professor Sarah Whiting. In 1895, Cannon began her study of astronomy at Radcliffe College, joining the Harvard College Observatory staff in 1897, where she stayed for the remainder of her career.

While at the Observatory, Cannon first worked as a research assistant under Professor Edward Pickering. She later became Curator of Astronomical Photographs in 1911, and in 1940, two years before her retirement, she attained the rank of professor as the William Cranch Bond Astronomer.

Cannon published the nine-volume Henry Draper Catalog between 1918 to 1924, containing information about 225,000 stars, and supplemented by the Henry Draper Extension in 1925. The catalog is still accepted as an international standard. Cannon received many honors and awards throughout her career, including a D.Sc. from Oxford University, making her the first woman to receive an honorary degree from that institution.