Article
ID: CBB332924458

Mary Proctor: An astronomical popularizer in the shadows (2021)

unapi
Women in science Communication of scientific ideas Journalism Astronomy Popularization 20th century, early Proctor, Mary

The popularizer of astronomy Mary Proctor was well known in her days but has been little remembered since. A prominent lecturer and author, Proctor was trained in the craft of science writing by her father, Richard Proctor. She ‘held the very first place in the profession as a woman’ and promoted the role of women in science throughout her career. Her life illuminates many themes. Mary Proctor spanned the period between entrepreneurial science popularizers and professional science communicators. I suggest that one of her most important legacies is as an early pioneer of the practices of science journalism in the early twentieth century when the relations between science and society were in flux. Yet her legacy has been largely overlooked. A study of Proctor's life reveals multiple interests, diverse opportunities and the way that people are differently remembered.

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Authors & Contributors
Papanelopoulou, Faidra
Almeida, Maria Antónia Pires de
Bryant, Thomas
Cahill, Maria J.
Campos, Raquel Discini de
Carneiro, Ana
Journals
Science and Education
Gewina
História, Ciências, Saúde---Manguinhos
Centaurus: International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Eighteenth-Century Studies
Historical Records of Australian Science
Publishers
University of Arizona
Hill & Wang
University of Pittsburgh Press
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Concepts
Communication of scientific ideas
Popularization
Journalism
Science and society
Public understanding of science
Women in science
People
Duffield, Walter Geoffrey
Haywood, Eliza Fowler
Hogg, Helen Sawyer
Lemos, Floriano de
Vinken, Pierre
Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century, late
18th century
19th century
20th century
21st century
Places
Great Britain
Germany
Greece
Portugal
Spain
Netherlands
Institutions
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
Royal Institution of Great Britain
Mount Stromlo Observatory (Australia)
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