Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, PhD, was a British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist. She was one of the founders of stellar nucleosynthesis, and the first author of the famous B2FH paper, a landmark scientific paper on the origin of the chemical elements. In 1972, she became the first woman to be appointed director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Burbidge was well known for her work opposing discrimination against women in astronomy. She refused the Annie J. Cannon Prize from the American Astronomical Society (AAS) because it was awarded to women only. Her action led to the formation of a standing AAS committee for the status of women in astronomy.
Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, PhD
Astronomy