| RefNo | HSF/1/3/61 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from C [Charles] Pritchard, Freshwater, to Sir John [Frederick William Herschel] |
| Creator | Pritchard; Charles (1808-1893); British astronomer |
| Date | 10 May 1869 |
| Description | He sends to Herschel his first attempt and hopes it is acceptable. 'Very few English people are in the least degree aware of the great philosophical achievement of Sir W. Herschel'. When the series is finished it will require care in reforming it as a small volume and he hopes he will improve as it goes on. He wishes that one of the Herschel grandsons was associated with it. Sir John Herschel would have been pleased with Sir Frederick Pollock's note, which he quotes from. Pritchard thinks that William Herschel has been overshadowed by his great telescope, which in reality was almost the least of his works. [Richard Anthony] Proctor has just recalculated the rotation time of Mars and he puts William Herschel closer than [Johann Heinrich von] Mädler. Pritchard names later workers and asks what Sir William would have thought if he had been told of their efforts. 'It forms a beautiful tale from your father down to [George Biddell] Airy'. He was surprised to see no astronomers on Sir William Herschel's election certificate at the Royal Society, apart from [Francis] Wollaston's. |
| Extent | 4p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA5459 | Pritchard; Charles (1808 - 1893) | 1808 - 1893 |