Astronomy Teacher Holds Reunion, Students of Past 45 Years Attend

Not many courses are special enough to be remembered after the exam is over.

But for students of Dr. Frances W. Wright's astronomy course, annual get-togethers have become a big event. The 91 year-old Wright, who taught a class on celestial navigation for 45 years, was toasted by 25 of her former students at a reunion Wednesday. Many of the alumni said they had applied what they learned in Wright's course to their work as professional astronomers and for a few, to transglobal ocean voyages.

Steven McKenna, the keynote speaker at the reunion and a former student of Wright's, told the gathering about a 3200-mile sailing trip he had made from Massachusetts to Portugal in 1986 on which he applied the principles taught to him by Wright.

Professor of Applied Astronomy George B. Field said that because of Wright's extraordinary dedication to undergraduates, she had been allowed to teach her astronomy course even after reaching mandatory retirement age.

Until last year, Field was listed in the course catalog as the official professor of the course, Astronomy 2, although it was actually Wright who taught the course. Wright was listed in the catalog as conducting laboratory sessions.

"Frances reached retirement age over 25 years ago," Field explained, "but the University made a special dispensation for her to teach because she's special." Harvard professors are normally obligated to retire when they reach age 65.

Even before reaching retirement age, Wright was permitted to teach under special conditions. "She never became a professor. Special considerations had to be taken...and she taught her course as a 91r," Field said. Astronomy 91r is the department's supervised reading and research course.

Wright began teaching the navigation course in 1942 with Bart Bok, a specialist in Milky Way structure who is currently president of the American Astronomical Society. During World War II. Wright and Bok were enlisted to teach crash courses at Harvard to U.S. Army personnel. "A class started on Monday andfinished three weeks later on Saturday. One ofthem told me later that he used everything we taught him," Wright said.

Around the World

Several of Wright's students have sailed or flown around the world using the techniques they learned in Astronomy 2 or 9lr. One of them. Javier F. Araujo '85, came to Wednesday's reunion to visit Wright, whom he says helped inspire him to make a trans-Atlantic flight.

"Our major goal was to keep alive her spirit inteaching the new course." Field said of Astronomy 2.

"The course puts you in touch with the world in a way very few courses do," said Astronomy Professor Charles A. Whitney, who has taught the course since Wright's retirement. "It's not just doing calculations but gives you the feeling that you live in a spherical earth."

Whitney told the audience at the reunion, which was held at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, that although he began teaching Astronomy 2 this semester, Wright "still comes to all the classes."

"As we all know, Frances never retires." Field added.