Cecilia Payne- Gaposchkin was an astronomer and astrophysicist.

In 1925, she proposed her Ph.D. thesis, which explained that stars, and the universe are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Her work is used as the basis in the field of stellar atmospheres. During her studies at Cambridge and Harvard, she fought against gender discrimination through her work. Eventually, she was appointed a professor at Harvard and the chairman of the astronomy department.