Alice Maxwell Lamb Updegraff

Alice Maxwell Lamb Updegraff
Born(1863-03-07)March 7, 1863
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedApril 3, 1952(1952-04-03) (aged 89)
Saanich, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationScientist

Alice Maxwell Lamb Updegraff (March 7, 1863 – April 3, 1952) was an American scientist who worked at Washburn Observatory and the Argentine National Observatory in the 1880s.

Biography

Lamb was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the daughter of Francis Jones Lamb and Ellen Ware Lamb. She graduated from high school in Madison in 1879.[1] She completed a bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1884, and a master's degree in astronomy in 1885.[2][3] At Wisconsin, she was a charter member of the school's first chapter of the Delta Gamma sorority.[4]

Lamb was an assistant astronomer at the Washburn Observatory in Wisconsin from 1885 to 1887,[5][6] and at the Argentine National Observatory in Córdoba, Argentina, from 1887 to 1890.[7] In both locations she was in charge of the observatory's time service.[8] She also worked on German scientific translations.[9][10]

Lamb married naval commander and astronomy professor Milton Updegraff in 1887; they had three daughters, Helen, Mabel, and Ruth.[11] Helen died in 1932 and Mabel died in 1937.[12] Her husband died in 1938,[13][14] and she died in 1952, at the age of 89, in British Columbia.[15]

Publications

  • "Some Observations of the 303 Stars between 5h and 12h of Right Ascension" (1886, with Milton Updegraff)[16]
  • "A Saddle Ride Across the Andes" (1890)[17]
  • Observations With The Meridian Circle (1890, with Milton Updegraff)[18]

References

  1. ↑ "The High School; Graduating Exercises of the Class of '79". Wisconsin State Journal. 1879-07-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Leonard, John William; Leonard, John W.; American Commonwealth Company (1914). Woman's Who's Who of America: A biographical dictionary of contemporary women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915. New York: American Commonwealth Co. p. 831.
  3. ↑ "State University". The Weekly Wisconsin. 1885-07-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Foster, Mary. "Omega: University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin" The Anchora of Delta Gamma 61(2)(January 1945): 110.
  5. ↑ Lattis, James; Tyrrell, Kelly (2024-04-23). Chasing the Stars: How the Astronomers of Observatory Hill Transformed Our Understanding of the Universe. Wisconsin Historical Society. pp. 52–54. ISBN 978-1-9766-0025-8.
  6. ↑ Holden, Edward Singleton. "Remarks on the observations and reductions of the 303 fundamental stars for the southern zones of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, during 1884 and 1885, and of miscellaneous stars during the same period." Publications of the Washburn Observatory 4 (1886): 31-52.
  7. ↑ Updegraff, Milton (1890). "Some Notes on Astronomy in South America". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 2 (10): 217–226. ISSN 0004-6280.
  8. ↑ Creese, Mary R. S. (2000-01-01). Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800-1900: A Survey of their Contributions to Research. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-585-27684-7.
  9. ↑ McKenney, Anne P. "What Women Have Done For Astronomy in the United States" Popular Astronomy (1904): 173-174.
  10. ↑ Gunby, Olive (1900-03-18). "Women Computors and Astronomers". The Commercial Appeal. p. 23. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Miss Updegraff Leaves". The San Francisco Call Bulletin. 1917-09-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Church Window Dedication Set". Arizona Republic. 1939-10-15. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Milton Updegraff, Astronomer, Dies; Served at Naval Observatory in Washington, 1899-1902, Had Taught at Annapolis; Stricken at Mare Island; Retired Commander Once Led Eclipse Expedition-Was a Native of iowa". The New York Times. September 13, 1938. p. 24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  14. ↑ "U. S. Astronomer Dies on Coast; Comdr. Milton Updegraff Formerly Served Here". Evening Star. 1938-09-13. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Obituary for Alice Lamb Updegraff". Times Colonist. 1952-04-05. p. 15. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Updegraff, Milton, and Alice M. Lamb. "Some Observations of the 303 Stars Between 5h and 12h of Right Ascension." Publications of the Washburn Observatory, vol. 4, pp. 1-25 4 (1886): 1-25.
  17. ↑ Updegraff, Alice Lamb (1890-03-05). "A Saddle Ride Across the Andes". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Lamb, Alice Maxwell; Updegraff, Milton (1890). Observations with the Meridian Circle. Democrat Printing Company.
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