Asteroid named after Cambridge’s first female professional astronomer
Annie Walker's ground-breaking contributions to star observation have only recently been fully uncovered more than a century after her work
Last updated 3rd Jul 2025
An asteroid has been named after Annie Walker, the first woman at Cambridge to be paid for observing the stars, recognising her pioneering role more than 100 years after her work was done.
New research has uncovered that Annie Walker’s role at Cambridge Observatory was much greater than previously thought. Employed for 25 years as a ‘computer’, she was originally tasked with calculations based on observations made by male astronomers who had exclusive use of the telescopes. However, records show that Annie quickly progressed to observing stars herself and later made detailed observations of 1,585 stars, which were published under her name years after she left the Observatory.
Mark Hurn, Information Manager at Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, and Roger Hutchins from Oxford’s Magdalen College, pieced together Annie’s career from historical records. Mark said: “There’s something of a tragedy to this, really – in that she almost certainly never saw her work formally recognised. And that’s really been part of our motivation, to redress things and see her given the sort of recognition she deserves.”
Annie, the daughter of a Suffolk miller, began working at Cambridge Observatory in 1879 aged 15, initially as a part-time computer while waiting to take a mathematics exam. She was promoted to full-time computer and trained as an observer when she turned 18. At that time, she earned £10 per quarter and accommodation, enough to be self-sufficient.
Her early mentors, Professor John Couch Adams and assistant Andrew Graham, praised her progress. The Observatory’s annual reports from the 1880s noted her growing role as an observer, with Adams writing in 1881-82: “Miss Walker… already bids fair to become a good observer and efficient calculator.”
By 1895, Annie was earning £90 a year plus board, making her the highest paid woman in British astronomy. Despite this, when Robert Ball became Director in 1892, Annie’s opportunities declined. She resigned in 1903 at age 40 and emigrated to Australia, where she identified as an astronomer but is not known to have continued professional work in the field.
Her most notable achievement was an Appendix to the Cambridge Zone Catalogue, published 16 years after her resignation and credited to her by Arthur Eddington. The appendix included about 4,800 observations she made between 1896 and 1899, covering roughly 10% of the entire catalogue.
Mark Hurn said: “She must have felt very proud of what she had done at Cambridge.” The Institute of Astronomy has now secured official naming of an asteroid in the outer main belt as (5400) Anniewalker in her honour.
Stephanie Buttigieg, co-chair of the Women’s Network at the Institute, said: “It’s great that she’s finally getting the credit she deserves. Representation is so important, for women to see other women who have succeeded, and that’s why stories like this are so important.”
The researchers are seeking photographs or further information about Annie Walker to add to the record of her life and work.