Henrietta Swan Leavitt

American astronomer and human calculator (1868–1921)
Person human Q110181
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
William Henry credited as photographer in the Woman Citizen issue where this photo appeared. · Public Domain · Wikimedia
Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Henrietta Swan Leavitt was born on July 4, 1868[1], in Lancaster[2]. She died on December 12, 1921[3], in Cambridge[4]. She worked as an astronomer[5] and computer[6]. She ranks in the top 0.69% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (3,409 views/month, #6,918 of 1,000,298).[7]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Cambridge Cemetery[8]
  • Father: Rev. George Roswell Leavitt[9]
  • Mother: Henrietta Swan Kendrick[10]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[11]
  • Native language: English[12]
  • Field of work: astronomy[13]
  • Employer: Harvard College Observatory[14], Beloit College[15]
  • Educated at: Radcliffe College[16], Oberlin College[17]
  • Notable work: standard candle[18]
  • Member of: Phi Beta Kappa Society[19], Harvard Computers[20], American Astronomical Society[21], American Association for the Advancement of Science[22], American Association of University Women[23], American Association of Variable Star Observers[24]
  • Religion or worldview: Eastern Orthodoxy[25]
  • Sex or gender: female[26]
  • Commons category: Henrietta Swan Leavitt[27]
  • Cause of death: cancer[28]
  • Residence: Lancaster[29]
  • Family name: Leavitt[30]
  • Given name: Henrietta[31], Swan[32]
  • Relative: John Leavitt[33], Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr.[34], Erasmus Darwin Leavitt[35]
  • Medical condition: deafness[36]
  • Manner of death: natural causes[37]
  • Described by source: Forgotten Women: The Scientists[38], Q125459804[39], Astronomers: A Biographical Reference[40]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: English[41]
  • Name in native language: Henrietta Swan Leavitt[42]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Henrietta Swan Leavitt include Leavitt[43], a lunar crater[44].

Why It Matters

Henrietta Swan Leavitt has Wikipedia articles in 28 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[45] She is known by 37 alternative names across languages and contexts.[46]

She has been cited as an influence by Margaret Harwood[47], an astronomer[48], 1885–1979[49], of United States[50], awarded the honorary degree[51].

She is credited with the discovery of Period-luminosity relation[52] and T Pyxidis[53], a cataclysmic variable star[54]. Entities named for her include Leavitt[43], a lunar crater[44].

FAQs

Where was Henrietta Swan Leavitt born?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt's place of birth was Lancaster[2].

Where did Henrietta Swan Leavitt die?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt died in Cambridge[4].

Who were Henrietta Swan Leavitt's parents?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt's father was Rev. George Roswell Leavitt[9]. Henrietta Swan Leavitt's mother was Henrietta Swan Kendrick[10].

What did Henrietta Swan Leavitt do for work?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt worked as an astronomer[5] and computer[6].

Where did Henrietta Swan Leavitt go to school?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt was educated at Radcliffe College[16] and Oberlin College[17].

Who did Henrietta Swan Leavitt influence?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt has been cited as an influence by Margaret Harwood[47].

What did Henrietta Swan Leavitt discover?

Henrietta Swan Leavitt is credited as discoverer of Period-luminosity relation[52] and T Pyxidis[53].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [9] ↑ . Genealogics. wikidata.org.
  5. [10] ↑ . Genealogics. wikidata.org.
  6. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [16] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. wikidata.org.
  8. [17] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. wikidata.org.
  9. [13] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. wikidata.org.
  10. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [5] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. wikidata.org.
  12. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [14] ↑ . The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. wikidata.org.
  14. [15] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  15. [8] ↑ . Find a Grave. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [21] ↑ . NNDB. wikidata.org.
  21. [22] ↑ . NNDB. wikidata.org.
  22. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [1] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [3] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  28. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [18] ↑ . Forgotten Women: The Scientists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  32. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [34] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  34. [35] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  35. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [48] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [49] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [50] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [51] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [54] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [44] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [7] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [45] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [46] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-swan-leavitt
MLA “Henrietta Swan Leavitt.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 17 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-swan-leavitt.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_henrietta-swan-leavitt_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Henrietta Swan Leavitt}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-swan-leavitt}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-17}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Henrietta Swan Leavitt — https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-swan-leavitt (retrieved 2026-10-17)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/henrietta-swan-leavitt · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 2d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['an', 'ar', 'arz', 'ast', 'azb', 'bg', 'bn', 'bs', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'cy',
    Sitelink count → 64
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ source for place of birth, source for place of death, source for date of birth, source for date of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wik"
  2. 12d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-10-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sbn author id → BCTV013767
    Employer → Harvard College Observatory, Beloit College, Harvard College Observatory
    Sitelink count → 64
    Wikipedia languages → ['an', 'ar', 'arz', 'ast', 'azb', 'bg', 'bn', 'bs', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'cy',
    + 2 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Sbn author id: BCTV013767, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/289737|batch #289737]]"
  3. 6w ago · Ferran Mir · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Relative → John Leavitt, Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr., Erasmus Darwin Leavitt
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Educated at: Oberlin College"
  4. 6w ago · Ferran Mir · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Bibsys id → 6047069
    Nacsis-cat author id → DA16057823
    Image → Henrietta Swan Leavitt 1921.png, Henrietta Swan Leavitt.jpg
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Place of death: Cambridge"
  5. 6w ago · Ferran Mir · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Viaf cluster id → 47876856, 390149294145680521092
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Viaf cluster id: 390149294145680521092"
  6. 16w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 411623
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 411623, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
  7. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id → 0252111-Leavitt-Henrietta-Swan-18681921
    Local thumb → —
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: 0252111-Leavitt-Henrietta-Swan-18681921, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259473|batch #259473]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.