Ellen Hayes
A fiercely independent mathematician and radical reformer, she smashed gender barriers in academia while championing suffrage and labor rights.
1851–1930 (age 79)·American mathematician and astronomer·Birthday: September 23
Biography
Ellen Hayes was a force of nature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a woman who insisted on a life of the mind and of principle. She joined the faculty of Wellesley College in 1879, becoming one of the first women in America to hold a full professorship in mathematics, where she was known for her demanding, rigorous teaching. Her intellect, however, was never confined to the classroom. Hayes was a committed social radical, openly advocating for women's suffrage, socialism, and workers' rights at a time when such views could cost a professor her job. This activism, combined with her gender, made her a perpetual controversy, leading to clashes with college administration. In her later years, she turned her analytical skills to astronomy, calculating orbits and running the college observatory, proving her scholarly mettle spanned the scientific spectrum.
#1 When Ellen Was Born
The biggest hits of 1851
Ellen's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1851Born
1856Started school
1864Became a teenager
President: Abraham Lincoln
1867Could drive
President: Andrew Johnson
1869Could vote
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1872Turned 21
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1881Turned 30
President: Chester A. Arthur
1891Turned 40
President: Benjamin Harrison
1901Turned 50
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Turned 60
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1921Turned 70
First commercial radio broadcasts
President: Warren G. Harding"My Man" — Fanny Brice
1930Died at 79
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
Key Achievements
- Became one of the first female full professors of mathematics in the United States at Wellesley College.
- Authored several mathematics textbooks, including 'Algebra for High Schools and Colleges'.
- Served as the head of Wellesley's Astronomy Department and managed its observatory.
Did You Know?
She was a supporter of the controversial anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti.
She ran for Massachusetts Secretary of State in 1912 as the candidate of the Socialist Party.
She published a book on astronomy titled 'The Southern Stars' later in her career.
“I demand the right to think, and I will not be silent about the wrongs I see.”
