ASTRONOMER

Harlow Shapley

1885 - 1972

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Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American astronomer, who served as head of the Harvard College Observatory from 1921–1952, and political activist during the latter New Deal and Fair Deal. Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to estimate the size of the Milky Way Galaxy and the Sun's position within it. In 1953 he proposed his "liquid water belt" theory, a concept now known as a habitable zone. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Harlow Shapley is the 163rd most popular astronomer (up from 166th in 2019), the 2,106th most popular biography from United States (up from 2,302nd in 2019) and the 28th most popular American Astronomer.

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Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, Harlow Shapley ranks 163 out of 644. Before him are Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, Eleanor F. Helin, Alphonse Borrelly, and Johann Adam Schall von Bell. After him are James Ferguson, Cornelis Johannes van Houten, John Goodricke, Nicole-Reine Lepaute, Margaret Burbidge, and Taqi ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1885, Harlow Shapley ranks 61. Before him are Seishirō Itagaki, André Lhote, Sisavang Vong, Bess Truman, Gunnar Asplund, and René Grousset. After him are Theda Bara, Friedrich Kellner, Alois Hudal, Per Albin Hansson, Jules Romains, and Władysław Raczkiewicz. Among people deceased in 1972, Harlow Shapley ranks 53. Before him are Eugène Tisserant, Fredric Brown, Bronislava Nijinska, Akim Tamiroff, Jo Bonnier, and Lester B. Pearson. After him are Martiros Saryan, Ettore Bastico, Mahalia Jackson, Hans Scharoun, Karl Silberbauer, and S. R. Ranganathan.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Harlow Shapley ranks 2,106 out of 20,380. Before him are Henry Hartsfield (1933), John G. Trump (1907), Dorothy Malone (1924), James Pickens Jr. (1954), Kirk Hammett (1962), and Sonny Bono (1935). After him are La Toya Jackson (1956), Robin Cook (1940), Stephen Jay Gould (1941), Evander Holyfield (1962), Marcheline Bertrand (1950), and Lana Del Rey (1985).

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Among ASTRONOMERS In United States

Among astronomers born in United States, Harlow Shapley ranks 28. Before him are James Van Allen (1914), Frank Drake (1930), Maria Mitchell (1818), Carolyn S. Shoemaker (1929), William Henry Pickering (1858), and Eleanor F. Helin (1932). After him are Carl Keenan Seyfert (1911), Robert Grant Aitken (1864), Henry Draper (1837), George Phillips Bond (1825), George William Hill (1838), and Francis Preserved Leavenworth (1858).

American born Astronomers

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