[3] She studied painting, learned Latin, German, French and Italian, and was familiar with the literature of those languages.

"[4] Due to an ever-increasing illness, she was confined to her home and died on March 13, 1900, at 810 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

[7] As an amateur astronomer, she turned to philanthropy in this field at the age of 73, only after reading an article by Simon Newcomb claiming all the major discoveries in astronomy have occurred.

[2] Bruce turned to telescope maker Alvan Graham Clark to see how she could support research in astronomy.

[11][12] Asteroid 323 Brucia, discovered by Max Wolf is named after her, as well as the crater Bruce on the Moon.