yaywebcomic

One of the first computers was Williamina Fleming. Born 1857 she was discovered by Edward Pickering, director of the Harvard College Observatory. In her brief life she became one of the most prominent astronomers of her time, yet we do not know a lot about her. I discovered her work while researching the history of computers, which in the beginning (18th/19th century) were mostly female or POC! That blew my mind, so I had to make a installation about it in my fine art practice. I gained lots of insight and the topic has since stayed with me. Williamina Fleming stood out in a time where astronomy was predominantly male, until she started working categorising stars under Edward Pickering who later employed many women for computation work. Fast forward I‘m transcribing her journals in preparation for a novel, to get a feeling on who she was. She discovered 310 stars, 10 novae & 52 nebulae, including the ! ✨
This will be mammoth of a project but I believe these are the stories that have to be told.

28. Jumbo