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Girl Who Named Pluto, At 11, Dies At 90

Posted by kdawson on from the no-phair dept.

notthepainter notes the passing of the woman who, as an 11-year-old girl, named Pluto. "Frozen and lonely, Planet X circled the far reaches of the solar system awaiting discovery and a name. It got one thanks to an 11-year-old British girl named Venetia Burney, an enthusiast of the planets and classical myth. On March 14, 1930, the day newspapers reported that the long-suspected 'trans-Neptunian body' had been photographed for the first time, she proposed to her well-connected grandfather that it be named Pluto, after the Roman god of the underworld. Venetia Phair, as she became by marriage, died April 30 in her home in Banstead, in the county of Surrey, England. She was 90. ... More vexing to Mrs. Phair was the persistent notion that she had taken the name from the Disney character. 'It has now been satisfactorily proven that the dog was named after the planet, rather than the other way around,' she told the BBC. 'So, one is vindicated.' " Venetia's great-uncle Henry, who was a housemaster at Eton, had successfully proposed that the two dwarf moons of Mars be named Phobos and Deimos.

13 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. But Pluto's not even a planet! by bigjarom · · Score: 5, Funny

    How is this even a story? Maybe if she had named a REAL planet...

    1. Re:But Pluto's not even a planet! by Col+Estrol · · Score: 5, Funny

      true, Pluto sure turned out to be a mickey mouse planet

    2. Re:But Pluto's not even a planet! by iggymanz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      it still has the name Venetia B. gave it, and it will still have that name even if Western civilization falls, for example in Japanese and Chinese it's "Netherworld King", translating her name by calling the god Pluto by his title. In a thousand years it's likely her name will have survived.

  2. Damned Disney by karaage · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ripping off public domain folk tales was not enough. They had to go after the planets, too.

    1. Re:Damned Disney by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ...By practically claiming it as your own? How many people think that The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White and Pinocchio were thought up by Disney? I would imagine that most kids, and a good amount of adults think that, at least for some of them.

      Sure, its not wrong because public domain works are meant to be copied. But it kinda kills part of the experience to know that the movies you thought Disney did a great job doing, had been around for centuries before Walt was born.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  3. God speed by elashish14 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We'll forever remember your contribution(s) to the scientific community.

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    I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
    1. Re:God speed by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

      She outlived her planet.

  4. Re:like a zebra. by linzeal · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you knew your history or had read the article linked in the header, you would.

    --
    An Education is the Font of All Liberty
  5. greek underworld != christian hell by panthroman · · Score: 5, Informative

    TFA quotes Neil deGrasse Tyson saying "Pluto is the god of the underworld, a distant place you don't want to go to," and Capt. Freeman saying "Pluto is the prototype of Satan in many minds..."

    The Greek underworld is more akin to the entire Christian afterlife. Sure, it had Hell-like Tartarus, but it also had the Heaven-like Elysian Fields (in French: Champs-Elysees), and plenty of places between.

    And Pluto/Hades was certainly no Satan! In at least one myth, the brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots to see who would rule the air, sea, and underworld. Zeus drew first and chose air. Poseidon was thrilled, because he wanted the sea anyway. And poor Hades was stuck with the underworld.

    Also from TFA, "...scientists at the Lowell Observatory voted unanimously for Pluto, partly because its first two letters could be interpreted as an homage to Percival Lowell..." Very cool.

  6. Re:Goofy by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What I find baffling is that Goofy is a dog, and Pluto is a dog. But Goofy wears clothes, drives, and talks - and Pluto just runs around, barks and wags his tail.

    It's just... not right.

  7. plutonic != platonic by panthroman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Plutonic?

    Astrological etymologies:
    Mercurial - unpredictable temperment
    Venereal - sexually indulgent
    Lunatic - crazy
    Martial - war-like
    Saturnine - gloomy
    Jovial - happy

    But "nepotism" is from nephew, not Neptune. And "platonic" is from Plato, not Pluto.

  8. Re:Goofy by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Funny

    Should we respect Goofy's aspiration to transcend his origins and disapprove of Pluto's ignomy, or should we reject Goofy as a social-climbing pretender and admire Pluto's authenticity?

  9. Re:Goofy by dudpixel · · Score: 5, Funny

    we are tackling the big issues here today aren't we?

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    This seemed like a reasonable sig at the time.