| RefNo | HSF/2/1/107 |
| Previous numbers | 32.8.93 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from J [John] Herschel, Bangalore [Bengaluru], to 'Dear Father' [Sir John Frederick William Herschel] |
| Creator | Herschel; John (1837-1921); British army officer and astronomer |
| Date | 20 June 1870 |
| Description | Having had the rules for Royal Society elections he wrote to Colonel W [Walker] asking for his share of a testimonial and this is enclosed [not present]. The statement is 'lame & curt' despite his being at Walker's right hand and battling alone at a time of revolution in the whole system of calculations for the [Great Trigonometrical] Survey. Only [John Baboneau Nickterlien] Hennessey, who relieved him, knows this machinery, which was John's unaided work. Walker has not recorded this in his favour on the grounds that it might give offence to others, an honest but strange position. Walker's reports to Government are similarly impersonal and without commendation. His private correspondence was different, before he became so cautious. John gives corrections [to his form citation], including that his employment on the Survey will be be eleven years in November, and noting his physical researches, correcting the subject of his paper on attraction, which he thinks Colonel Walker has never seen or read. With no testimonial, he must be presented on solar, rather than terrestrial or professional work. Colonels [Henry Edward Landor] Thuillier and [James Francis] Tennant promised their support before he learned from Walker that canvassing was improper and therefore he will not trouble them unless his father thinks it desirable. He is hard at work with his zenith sector observations and is straining to make the process mechanical, to obtain a profusion of latitude determinations. He thinks these have the same relation to the figure of the Earth as local heights have to a limited surface, and he wishes to reduce labour to a minimum. He describes the number, range, and significance of his observations at the first station. One of the consequences of using the zenith sector will be the rectification of stars' positions. His last season's stations were in two groups of three, with none being of more importance; the object being to learn of any local disturbances. He describes the drudgery of calculation and the commencement of the rainy season. Mary's [Mary Cornwallis Herschel's] cough is regular and his own headaches frequent. Alick's [Alexander Stewart Herschel's] curves are 'the delight of all eyes', artistic as well as geometrical. |
| Extent | 8p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7955 | Herschel; John (1837 - 1921); Colonel; military engineer, surveyor and astronomer | 1837 - 1921 |