Williams was born on October 12, 1900, in Marshalltown, Iowa, where her father was a Quaker minister. After graduating from Guilford College, a Quaker college in North Carolina, she continued for graduate study at Smith College and the University of Michigan, where she earned a master's degree and doctorate respectively.[1]
Academic career
She joined the Smith College faculty in 1925 as an instructor,[1] progressing through the faculty ranks over 28 years at Smith as assistant, associate, and full professor, chairman of the astronomy department, and director of the college's astronomical observatory.[2] While still an assistant, she also became acting head of astronomy at Amherst College, and the only women on the Amherst College faculty.[1] In summers, she performed astronomical research at the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket.[3] She was president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers for the 1947–1948 term.[4]
Williams retired from Smith in 1953.[1] In 1959, she joined the National Science Foundation as Assistant Program Director for Astronomy.[3]
Later life and service
While still at Smith, Williams became active in Quaker efforts at war relief in Europe, through the American Friends Service Committee.[1] In her retirement, she was active in the organization of the Washington, DC meeting of the Society of Friends. She also headed a retirement home and returned to Guilford to work as a dormitory resident and direct the student union.[2]