CLERKE

clerke, agnes mary (1842-1907), english astronomer and scientific writer, was born on the 10th of february 1842, and died in london on the 20th of january 1907. she wrote extensively on various scientific subjects, but devoted herself more especially to astronomy. though not a practical astronomer in the ordinary sense, she possessed remarkable skill in collating, interpreting and summarizing the results of astronomical research, and as a historian her work has an important place in scientific literature. her chief works were _a popular history of astronomy during the 19th century_, first edition 1885, fourth 1902; _the system of the stars_, first edition 1890, second 1905; and _problems in astrophysics_, 1903. in addition she wrote _familiar studies in homer_ (1892), _the herschels and modern astronomy_ (1895), _modern cosmogonies_ (1906), and many valuable articles, such as her contributions to the _encyclopaedia britannica_. in 1903 she was elected an honorary member of the royal astronomical society.