Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 28.djvu/550

536 which follows the translation is in large part the work of this lady, although it was composed under the direction of Clairaut and revised by him. "We have witnessed two prodigies," said Voltaire in his historical introduction to the "Principia"—"one that Newton should have composed this work, and the other that a woman should have translated and elucidated it." Leaving out the exaggeration natural in such a statement, there is still a great deal of truth in it. More than ordinary mathematical knowledge was necessary even to make known a work like Newton's immortal treatise, and still more to add explanatory comments to it. This, however, was not Madame du Châtelet's first scientific work, for she had previously written for her son "The Institutions of Physics," a book imbued with the Leibnitzian philosophy.

As may readily be imagined, Madame du Châtelet was likely to find more enemies than aids among the women of the light and frivolous society of her day. Fortunately, she was indifferent to criticism, else she would have suffered the pain of a hundred deaths.

The most distinguished of all woman-astronomers was Caroline Herschel, the story of whose life, already fully told in this journal (see "Popular Science Monthly," April and May, 1876), is familiar to our readers, and needs not to be repeated.

Madame Rümker, wife of the former director of the observatory of Hamburg, and his constant aid, discovered a comet on the 11th of October, 1847—the first comet discovered by a woman since Caroline Herschel had announced the last of her eight, fifty-two years before. [M. Lagrange has curiously omitted to mention the American woman-astronomer, Maria Mitchell, who is entitled to the place among discovers of comets which he here gives to Madame Rümker. She discovered a telescopic comet on the 1st day of October, 1847—ten days before Madame Rümker's discovery—in recognition of which she was given a gold medal by the King of Denmark. She has also devoted much attention to the examination of nebulæ, and has been employed in observations connected with the Coast Survey and in compiling the "Nautical Almanac." Her work has hardly been inferior to that of any of the women mentioned by M. Lagrange.—]

Another lady, who left very distinct traces of her work in astronomical science, was Madame Scarpellini, whom Italy claims as one of the children that have done her the most honor, and to whose memory a statue has recently been erected.

Catherine Scarpellini was born at Foligno on the 29th of October, 1808, and was a niece of the astronomer Feliciano Scarpellini, founder of the Capitoline Observatory, restorer of the Academia dei Lynceii, and professor in the two universities of Rome. Her attention was directed to scientific studies by her early training, with which her tastes fully agreed. Among her titles to fame we may recount that