Professor Margaret Burbridge FRS
Margaret Burbidge (1919–2020) began working as a caretaker at the University of London Observatory while she was still a student during the Second World War. Staff absences due to wartime duties enabled her to work in this role typically held by men and the blackouts improved her observations.

Burbidge went on to become a pioneering observational astronomer and astrophysicist, particularly in the area of stellar nucleosynthesis. Among her leadership roles, she was the first woman director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory (1973–75) and she consistently challenged discrimination towards women in astronomy. In this portrait inspired by photographs of Burbidge, she is fittingly depicted against a star-filled night sky.

This portrait is displayed in Room 27 alongside other scientists from the 1930s and Second World War period.