Sarah Frances Whiting taught physics and astronomy at Wellesley College from 1876 to 1916 and developed the first physics laboratory classes for female students. She was elected a fellow of AAAS in 1883 and received an honorary D. Sc. from Tufts University in 1905. I review her accomplishments and discuss some of the barriers that she had to overcome.

Topics
Telescopes, Visual system, Chemical elements, Educational aids, Teaching, Careers and professions, Lectures, News and events, Physicists, Laboratories
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29.

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30.

Reference 2, pp. 15–16. In contemporary discussions about never-married women, the question of sexual orientation often arises. For Whiting, no such speculation appears in the literature. Durant required Wellesley faculty to be single and members of evangelical denominations, and to live on campus, where they roomed in pairs in residence halls (Ref. 6, p. 11). Whiting was not likely to have violated the tenets of her devout religious faith, and, living with her sister, she did not develop emotional bonds with another woman. A more probable inference is that in her era, with her interests, talents, activities, and independence, she would have been anathema to any potential suitor. What is clear is that she enjoyed her work and remained free to pursue it.

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© 2005 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2005
American Association of Physics Teachers
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