Phyllis Hayford Hutchings (May 18, 1904 – July 7, 1965) was an American astronomer, engineer, and college professor. She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida, and at Whitman College in Washington.
Early life and education Hayford was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of John Fillmore Hayford and Lucy Dalzell Stone Hayford. Her father was director of the College of Engineering at Northwestern University. She earned a degree in civil engineering from Northwestern University in 1926, and earned a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1932. Her dissertation was titled "The Galactic Rotation Effect in Open Clusters". Career Hayford worked at Lick Observatory from 1926 to 1937, in various positions, including assistant to Donald Howard Menzel, computerAitken, R. G. "Personal Notes-Lick Observatory" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 45 (1933): 262. and research fellow."Fellows and Assistants at the Lick Observatory for the Year 1931-1932" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 43(1931): 223. Her work their often involved calculating the orbits of comets. She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida from 1935 to 1943, and at Whitman College in Washington from 1947 until her death in 1965. She also spoke to school and community groups about astronomy topics. Publications "A Brilliant Meteor" (1927)Hayford, Phyllis. "A Brilliant Meteor" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 39 (1927): 252. "Elements and ephemeris of Minor Planet 1929 PA" (1930, with Charlotte E. Moore)Moore, Charles E., and Phyllis Hayford. "Elements and ephemeris of Minor Planet 1929 PA" Lick Observatory Bulletin, vol. 15, pp. 22-23 15 (1930): 22-23. "Elements and ephemeris of Comet D 1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann)" (1930, with Claude M. Anderson Jr.)Hayford, Phyllis, and Claude Matthews Anderson. "Elements and ephemeris of Comet D 1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann)" Lick Observatory Bulletin 15 (1930): 43-45. "Observations of Comet B 1929 (Neujmin) and of minor planets" (1930, with C. J. Krieger, N. T. Bobrovnikoff, F. L. Whipple, and Charlotte E. Moore)Krieger, Charles John, Nicholas Theodore Bobrovnikoff, Fred Lawrence Whipple, Charlotte Emma Moore, and Phyllis Hayford. "Observations of Comet B 1929 (Neujmin) and of minor planets" Lick Observatory Bulletin 15 (1930): 20-23. "A study of galactic rotation with special reference to the radial velocities of the galactic star clusters" (1932)Hayford, Phyllis. "A study of galactic rotation with special reference to the radial velocities of the galactic star clusters" Lick Observatory Bulletin 16 (1932): 53-75. "Occultation of an 8.9 Magnitude Star by Jupiter" (1933)Hayford, Phyllis. "Occultation of an 8.9 Magnitude Star by Jupiter" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 45 (1933): 151. "Observations of Eros made at the Lick Observatory during the opposition of 1931, with a preliminary determination of the solar parallax" (1937, with R. J. Trumpler, F. J. Neubauer, C. E. Smith, and K. P. Kaster)
Personal life Hayford married mathematician William Lawrence Hutchings in 1934; they had a daughter, Lucy, born in 1938. Phyllis Hutchings died in 1965, at the age of 61, while she was teaching a summer course in Lawrence, Kansas. References