Birth of Harlow Shapley
Birth of Harlow Shapley
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Harlow Shapley Biography and Timeline
Follow Harlow Shapley through 18 dated historical records for United States of America.
Harlow Shapley, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
18Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1885–1972Years on this page
1885
1914
Discovery of Cepheid Stars
Beginning in 1914, Harlow Shapley began a series of studies of globular clusters, published in about 40 scientific papers. He examined the RR Lyrae variables in the clusters (which he assumed were cepheid variables) and would use their period-luminosity relationship for distance estimates
Discovery of Globular Clusters
Beginning in 1914, Harlow Shapley began a series of studies of globular clusters, published in about 40 scientific papers. He examined the RR Lyrae variables in the clusters (which he assumed were cepheid variables) and would use their period-luminosity relationship for distance estimates
Stellar Mass-Luminosity
Beginning in 1914, Harlow Shapley began a series of studies of globular clusters, published in about 40 scientific papers. He examined the RR Lyrae variables in the clusters (which he assumed were cepheid variables) and would use their period-luminosity relationship for distance estimates
1915
Discovery of Cepheid Stars
Harlow Shapley uses Cepheids to place initial constraints on the size and shape of the Milky Way, and of the placement of our Sun within it
1918
Discovery of Globular Clusters
By assuming a roughly spherical distribution of globular clusters around the galaxys centre, he used the positions of the clusters to estimate the position of the sun relative to the galactic centre.
Discovery of Globular Clusters
In 1918, this strongly asymmetrical distribution was used by Harlow Shapley to make a determination of the overall dimensions of the galaxy.
Discovery of Globular Clusters
Of the globular clusters within our Milky Way, the majority are found in the vicinity of the galactic core, and the large majority lie on the side of the celestial sky centreed on the core.
Discovery of Globular Clusters
While his distance estimate was significant in error, it did demonstrate that the dimensions of the galaxy were much greater than had been previously thought
1927
Discovery of Globular Clusters
Harlow Shapley and Helen Sawyer began categorizing clusters according to the degree of concentration the system has toward the core. The most concentrated clusters were identified as Class I, with successively diminishing concentrations ranging to Class XII. This became known as the Shapley-Sawyer Concentration Class
Shapley-Sawyer Concentration Class
Harlow Shapley and Helen Sawyer began categorizing clusters according to the degree of concentration the system has toward the core. The most concentrated clusters were identified as Class I, with successively diminishing concentrations ranging to Class XII. This became known as the Shapley-Sawyer Concentration Class
1934
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Winner of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
Winner of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1947
merican Association for the Advancement of Science
Appointed President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
1957
Metagalaxies
Publication of "Of Stars and Men", Shapley proposed the term Metagalaxies for what are now called superclusters
Of Stars and Men", Shapley proposed the term Metagalaxies
Publication of "Of Stars and Men", Shapley proposed the term Metagalaxies for what are now called superclusters
Of Stars and Men
Publication of "Of Stars and Men", Shapley proposed the term Metagalaxies for what are now called superclusters
1972
Death of Harlow Shapley
Death of Harlow Shapley
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.