Katherine Gordon Kron

Katherine Gordon Kron, Astronomer May 24, 1917 - June 1, 2011 Katherine Kron was born in New York City to Richard and Rebecca Gordon, the first of four siblings. She was educated at Friends Seminary, Brearley School, the Ethel Walker School, and Vassar College, obtaining an A.B. in 1938. She studied astronomy at the University of Lund, Sweden 1938-9, returned to Vassar to obtain an M.A. in 1940, and continued her studies at Harvard College Observatory 1940-1. Her first appointment was Assistant at Lick Observatory of the University of California 1941-3. During the war she served her country first as a Research Associate at the California Institute of Technology 1943-4, and later as Physicist at the Naval Ordnance Test Station in China Lake, California 1944-5. On April 22, 1946 she married Gerald E. Kron and brought up a family of five while at the Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton in California. During this time the family spent weekends at their residence in Carmel. The family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona in 1965. She and Gerald retired to Honolulu 1985-95, while maintaining a residence in Sedona, Arizona. In 1951, Katherine and Gerald spent a sabbatical year in Canberra, Australia, working at the Mt. Stromlo Observatory, the first of three extended visits. On the way to and back from Australia, she and Gerald toured islands in the Pacific, pursuing an interest in Pacific cultures. Her many other interests included languages and literature (Swedish, French, and Italian); music (Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Music Sedona); esoteric collecting (for example, bank notes printed by revolutionary organizations); and editing 16mm movies of family and professional events. In her youth she was an avid horsewoman and later flew her own private plane. She was a Trustee of the Museum of Northern Arizona 1977-85, and as a Volunteer worked on pottery restoration and curation. As a scientist, she published twenty-one research papers, specializing in using photoelectric techniques to measure light curves of eclipsing binary stars. She served as Editor of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1961-8, and served on its Finance Committee. She was active in the International Astronomical Union, and in retirement served on the Advisory Board of the Lowell Observatory. Throughout, she was an advocate for scientific research, valuing her long-time membership in Sigma Xi. She was predeceased by brothers Richard and Ralph and son Donald. She is survived by husband Gerald, sister Eleanora Baird, children Richard, Jenny Croft, Virginia Newkirk, and Charles, and five grandchildren. There are no local services planned. An online guestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Katherine Gordon Kron, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.