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RefNoMS/583/36
Previous numbersMS/585
LevelFile
TitleCopy diary of John Frederick William Herschel, transcribed by Louisa Gordon
Date1 January 1870-2 January 1871 [1910]
DescriptionFamily transcription of Sir John Herschel's original diary. The volume describes Herschel's scientific and social life, with meteorological and a few astronomical observations. The diary again commences with Herschel expressing Julian dates and throughout the volume there are gaps where these are the only day entries. On 23 January Herschel states that he has been occupied with biographically interesting dates from old bills, letters and other documents. He writes to The Times on silver coinage on 10 February and arranges his sunspot papetrs on 22 February. On 7 March Herschel celebrates his 78th birthday noting that he has been growing a beard since December. On 31 March he is 'able for first time to get out for a few minutes to see the magnificent group of spots passing off the Sun'. Herschel takes delivery of 5lbs of coca leaf from Valparaiso on 5 April and thereafter experiments with chewing leaf and making coca tea. He returns Kew Observatory negative heliographs to [Warren] De la Rue on 6 May. He records Lucy Gordon's piano playing on 19 May [and the transcriber adds her own recollection of the incident on 17 June 1910]. From 20 June Herschel records his progress with his double stars work and writes that he has completed the rough catalogue of general double stars for 1830 on 9 July. [John] Tyndall visits on 22 June and Herschel records their conversation on the nature of comet tails. Herschel notes that his nightly dosage of laudanum is at ten to fifteen drops diluted in rum, and when he stops the treatment, his nose and throat symptoms return immediately. He glimpses an eclipse of the Moon through cloud on 12 July and spends 19 July preparing 'blue discs' for sunspot observations. Herschel records the surrender of Louis Napoleon at Sedan on 3 September , 'the most wonderful event of the last sixty years'. After an ocular spectrum on 5 September Herschel records other milestones in his double star catalogue on 7 September and throughout October and November, with a full draft on 25 November, which he then revises until 30 December - 'Found and corrected a great many arithmetical errors'. On New Year's Eve, 'a whole tribe...assembled round a superbly illuminated Christmas tree'.

With a note on the cover sheet '1870 - (The last)'.
Extent41p.
FormatManuscript
PhysicalDescriptionOn paper, loosely bound with bronze yarn
AccessStatusOpen
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