German astronomer Maria Kirch died #OTD in 1720.
She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on the conjunction of the sun with Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter in 1709 and 1712 respectively. Kirch observed a comet in 1702, becoming the first woman to make such a discovery. However, the discovery was officially credited to her husband, reflecting the gender biases of the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Margaretha_Kirch
