Of the two major women involved with astronomy relatively early in its history, namely Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and Maria Mitchell, only the latter was an astronomer in her own right. This is not to denigrate Caroline Herschel, who was a remarkable observer, but it does point up the uniqueness of Mitchell, who became the first female professor of astronomy at the then women's college of Vassar.
Born to a Quaker family on Nantucket Island, Mitchell benefited from the Quaker view that women were intellectually the equal of men. Her father taught her astronomy, which was a very practical subject at the time because the sea captains of Nantucket depended on being able to read the stars to find their locations on the sea. Mitchell's father was heavily involved in education and Maria attended the school that he ran. She started a school herself, then was appointed the first librarian of the Nantucket Atheneum in 1836. She worked there for 18 years.
However, her reputation was such after she discovered a comet in 1847 (she won a gold medal from the King of Denmark for her discovery) that she was eventually hired as the first professor at Vassar in 1865. She was thus also the first woman professor of astronomy. She was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and one of the first elected to the American Philosophical Society. The Maria Mitchell Association of Nantucket Island was named for her.
In addition to her scientific work, she was a co-founder of the American Association for the Advancement of Women and a good friend of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as well as being staunchly anti-slavery, which caused her to refuse wearing cotton clothing prior to and during the Civil War. She became a Unitarian in 1842.
She was an institution at Vassar and one of the most respected profesional women in the United States until her death at 70 years of age.
Internet References:
Maria Mitchell. http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/...
Maria Mitchell. http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Maria Mitchell Association. http://www.mmo.org/