Elsa van Dien was born in Paramaribo (Surinam) on 12 July 1914.
She was the daughter of Rebecca da Silva and Gerrit van Dien.
[1] She was awarded a scholarship by Radcliffe College for September 1939, but due to the Second World War she could only commence her PhD there in September 1945, also with support of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
Her thesis, supervised by Donald Menzel, discussed the Stark effect in the Balmer lines of early type stars.
[3] After her PhD, she initially stayed at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, Canada.