An Exhibition of the Development and Impact of Higher Education in Astronomy for Women at the University of Michigan
Hazel Marie Losh
Ph.D. in Astronomy (1924)
Hazel Marie Losh, or “Doc Losh”, (born in Blanchester Ohio on August 25, 1888- died October 5, 1978 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) was well-known for her roles as a professor of undergraduate astronomy at the University of Michigan and an enthusiastic U-M sports superfan.
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Early Life & Education
Losh was born to William and Fannie Homan Losh. In 1920, she graduated with honors from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. She then moved to Ann Arbor to earn a Bachelor of Arts and Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan by 1924. During her time at the university, she was a member of Sigma Xi, the Women’s Research Club, and the secretary-treasurer of Phi Beta Kappa. Her dissertation, conducted under the guidance of Detroit Observatory Director Ralph Hamilton Curtiss, was titled “A Study of the Spectrum of Zeta Tauri”. Interestingly, in 1924, when asked in an Alumnae Council Survey “Who are the ten most outstanding women who have ever at any time attended the University of Michigan, considered from the standpoint of human service?”, Hazel Marie Losh first responded with her fellow Detroit Observatory astronomers Agnes E. Wells and Harriet W. Bigelow.(1)
Career Path
Astronomy and World War II
After receiving her doctorate, Hazel Marie Losh went on to pursue a career in astronomy by teaching for a year at Smith College. She then moved to Los Angeles to work as a research assistant in the Solar Department of the Mt. Wilson Observatory from 1926-1927 (2). Finally, Losh returned to the University of Michigan to be appointed as an instructor of the astronomy department in 1928 and professor in 1965. Alongside the dissertation, her other publications include “The Distribution of Sunspots in Longitude” (2) and “A Laboratory Manual in Astronomy”.
At the beginning of World War II, Losh was balancing a “disproportionate academic load” and so she subsequently decided to focus on undergraduate teaching (2). It was in this position that she was estimated to have taught 50,000 students during her 41 years teaching at U-M.
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Even with having what Losh noted as being “1,000 students each semester”, many of her former students remembered her “affectionately as teacher and as friend”(3)
U-M "People's Astronomer"
Hazel Marie Losh was also regarded as the U-M “people’s astronomer”. This was due to her possession of a remarkable ability to explain science in a way that anyone could understand.
To contribute to the community, Losh taped a monthly radio program known as “Astronomy Report” that was sent to numerous Michigan radio stations including WUOM and WVGR. She also gave public lectures and brought attention to astronomical events in stories made with the U-M Office of Information Services. Examples of topics discussed found in the “Detroit Free Press” and in the “Battle Creek Enquirer and News” include solar eclipses, lunar eclipses, meteor displays, planetary motion, and seasonal events.
With the Mars missions gaining popularity and bringing the public's attention to space astronomy, Hazel Marie Losh recognized that news media accounts had the ability to bring astronomy “much closer to the ordinary person”(4).
U-M "Number One Football Fan"
A Pre-Game Tradition
Hazel Marie Losh prided herself on the fact that she witnessed the very first football game ever played in Michigan Stadium in 1927 against her alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan (5). However, what many football fans at the time knew her for was a pre-game tradition of walking across the football field at every game. More specifically, Losh would be escorted across the field by the M Club as the players came out under the “Go Blue” banner (6).
Image Shown Above: Doc Losh crossing the Michigan Stadium field with M Club escort and Ernie Vick
A Minor Mix-Up
In a humorous anecdote, Losh is quoted as saying:
‘Due to a minor mix-up at the Baylor game last year, I didn’t make my usual crossing. The game turned out to be a tie. Everyone said it happened because I hadn’t made my lucky trip,’ she chuckles.(3)
Hazel Marie Losh continued to attend games and carry on this tradition even up to a week before her death. In this final game against Duke University, she was escorted onto the field in a wheelchair by her physician, U-M surgeon Dr. Errol E. Erlandson.(5)
It was for her passionate devotion to the sport that Hazel Marie Losh was given the title of “Homecoming Queen for Life” by U-M fraternities in 1966 and an honorary Michigan letterman’s sweater. (5)
Star-Gazing and Star-Athletes
Doc Losh was known to be particularly endeared by the university’s football players due to her keen interest and fondness of intercollegiate sports. Some highly successful professional athletes, taught by Losh, include Tom Keating of the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers, Rich Volk of the Baltimore Colts, and Mike Bass of the Washington Redskins.
As Michigan’s “number one football fan”, Doc Losh was rumored to be “a professor who gave “ ‘A’ grades to athletes, ‘B’ grades to boys, and ‘C’ grades to coeds”(5). While Losh lightheartedly dismissed these claims as unfounded, it is undisputed by the students and faculty that her admiration towards football and its athletes was unrivaled.
One individual that Losh regarded as “a good student and a great athlete” was Tom Harmon, who went on to become a Heisman trophy winner and prominent sportscaster. (3)
Individuals Shown: Hazel Marie Losh and Tom Harmon
"Semi-Retirement" and Sentiments
After her tenure from 1927-1968, she took on what many regarded as a “semi-retirement”. Specifically, according to a record detailing Losh’s retirement in a University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting (held on July 18,1969), the sentiment towards Losh was:
The University Regents, in appointing Hazel Losh Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, join her students and faculty peers in thanking her most warmly for her devoted offices. And they cordially invite her to participate in the life of the institution in which she is already a legend.(2)
Doc Losh Day
Throughout her retirement, Losh continued to attend all home hockey, basketball, and football games. Even eight years after receiving a University of Michigan Emeritus Professor status, she was still regarded in newspapers as “an active, popular campus and community personality”(3).
In 1976, Hazel Marie Losh even received a letter of congratulations on her birthday signed by United States President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford. Additionally, in 1978, The Ann Arbor City Council proclaimed that her birthday on August 28 be known as “Doc Losh Day in the City of Ann Arbor”(5.) By living her “double life” as the “people’s astronomer” and “number one football fan”, Hazel Marie Losh came to be known as one of the community’s most beloved citizens of the time.
Words of Wisdom
After a long illness, Hazel Marie Losh died in the John Knox Medical Center of Ann Arbor on October 5, 1978. She was 80 years old at the time of her death (6). On her tombstone, Losh requested that a quote from “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil” by the 19th century English poet Sarah Williams be inscribed:
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.(7)