Caption: Journalist Ann E. Ewing (1921--2010), the first person to put the word black hole---meaning a collapsed star with an event horizon---into the permanent historical record.

She used black hole in a science news story "Black Holes" in Space (1964) reporting on a session on "degenerate stars" (i.e., white dwarfs and neutron stars) at the AAAS Meeting 1963 Dec26--30 (see also Wikipedia: AAAS: Meetings) in Cleveland, Ohio (see Wikipedia: Black hole: Golden age; Obituary: Ann E. Ewing (1921--2010)).

Ann Ewing puts the term black hole in quotes in both title and text, but cites NO source for it. She mentions as speakers at the session Alastair (Al) G. W. Cameron (1925--2005) (whom yours truly slightly knew), Charles Misner (1932--) (coauthor of Gravitation (1973)), John B. Oke (1928--2004), and as session organizer Hong-Yee Chiu (1932--). None of these astronomers ever admitted responsibility for or accused anyone else of coining the neologism black hole. One day the truth may be told.

By the by, those were the good old days when a woman could be an aviatrix. Ann Ewing is wearing old-fashioned jodhpurs---but why? See also jodhpurs pronunciation.

Credit/Permission: Family photograph, mid 20th century / Permission uncertain, but it may be public domain.
Image link: Washington Post.
Local file: local link: ann_ewing.html.
File: Astronomer file: ann_ewing.html.