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Authorised form of nameHerschel; Sir; William (1738 - 1822); astronomer
Other forms of nameFriedrich Wilhelm
Dates1738 - 1822
Place of birthHanover, Germany
Date of birth15 November 1738
Place of deathObservatory House, Slough, Buckinghamshire
Date of death25 August 1822
Dates and placesBurial:
Under the tower, Church of St Laurence, Upton, Buckinghamshire
Research fieldAstronomy
ActivityEducation:
Hon LLD (1786, Edinburgh)
Career:
Oboist in the Hanoverian Foot Guards (from age 14); left Regiment and went to England (1757); music copyist, London; Director of Public Concerts, Leeds (1762); gave private music lessons; Organist for the new town organ, Halifax, but resigned shortly after (1766); Organist, Octagon Chapel, Bath (1766); began making astronomical obervations (1777); discovered the planet Uranus (13 March 1781); also discovered two of Uranus' moons, Titania and Oberon, and two of Saturn's moons; uniquely appointed King's Astronomer by George III; discovered infra-red heat; window commemorating him in Upton Church (unveiled 24 February 2001)
Honours:
Kt 1816
Memberships:
Bath Philosophical Society (1779); FRAS (President 1821)
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election06/12/1781
Royal Society activityMedals and prizes:
Copley Medal 1781
RelationshipsSecond son of Isaac and Anna Ilse Moritzen; married (1788) Mary Pitt, widow (at Upton Church, Buckinghamshire); father of Sir John Frederick William Herschel (FRS 1813); grandfather of Alexander Stewart Herschel (FRS 1884) and of John Herschel (FRS 1871)
SourcesSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
References:
John Thomas, 'Josiah Wedgwood's Portrait Medallions of Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 1963 vol 18 pp 45-53, plate
John R Levene, 'Nevil Maskelyne, FRS, and the Discovery of Night Myopia' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 100-108
Averil M Lysaght, 'Joseph Banks at Skara Brae and Stennis, Orkney, 1772' in NR 1973-4 vol 28 pp 221-234
Sir Bernard Lovell, 'Herschel's Work on the Structure of the Universe' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 57-75
R V Jones, 'Through Music to the Stars. William Herschel, 1738-1822' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 37-56, plate
Mari Williams, 'James Bradley and the Eighteenth Century "Gap" in Attempts to Measure Annual Stellar Parallax' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 83-100
A A Mills and R Hall, 'The Production of a Plane Surface. As Illustrated by Specula From Some Early Newtonian Telescopes' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 147-166
Margaret Bullard, 'My Small Newtonian Sweeper - Where is it Now?' in NR 1988 vol 42 pp 139-148
M V Wilkes, 'Charles Babbage and his world' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 353-365
W P Griffith and P J T Morris, 'Charles Hatchett FRS (1765 - 1847), chemist and discoverer of niobium' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 299 - 316
M Bailey Ogilvie, 'In her place. Pandora's breeches: women, science and power in the enlightenment, by P Fara' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 314-315
A Chapman, 'Sir William and Miss Caroline Herschel. 'The Herschel partnership, as viewed by Caroline' and 'Caroline Herschel's autobiographies' by M Hoskin' in NR 2005 vol 59 pp 91-92
Emily Winterburn, 'Philomaths, Herschel, and the Myth of Self-taught Man' in NR 2014, vol 68, no. 3, pp 207-225
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/19885773
Royal Society codeNA8060
Archives associated with this Fellow
Reference numberTitleDate
MM/21/84Letter from A S Herschel to Herbert Rix8 April 1895
IM/002060Herschel, Sir Williamnd
IM/002065Herschel, Sir Williamnd
EC/1781/19Herschel, Sir William: certificate of election to the Royal Society
IM/002057Herschel, Sir Williamnd
CB/2/751Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel28 February 1786
IM/003567Herschel, Sir William2000
CB/2/339Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel7 July 1787
CB/2/765Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel19 May 1786
CB/2/461Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel7 October 1790
CB/2/300Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel3 September 1789
IM/002062Herschel, Sir Williamnd
CB/2/7Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel19 June 1786
CB/2/42Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel6 October 1786
CB/2/754Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William HerschelMarch 1786
CB/2/191Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel9 December 1788
RSL/1/32Copy of a note received from Mr Mechain, relative to his Calculation of the Elements of Herschel's planet, and sent by Chevalier de Bory to Mr de Magellan1783
IM/002064Herschel, Sir Williamnd
CB/1/3/170Letter from Thomas Curtis, Belmont, Bath to Charles Blagden11 December 1782
CB/2/536Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel28 June 1791
CB/1/4/135Letter from William Herschel, Clay Hall near Windsor to Charles Blagden, Gower Street, Bedford Square, London28 September 1785
CB/2/55Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel17 May 1787
M/255Herschel, Sir William
CB/2/36Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel16 September 1786
MM/10/6Letter from William Herschel to Sir Joseph Banks1785
CB/2/488Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel17 December 1790
CB/2/465Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel12 October 1790
CB/2/522Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel6 June 1791
CB/2/307Copy of a letter from Charles Blagden to William Herschel7 September 1789
IM/002058Herschel, Sir Williamnd
S/0061Cameo of Herschel, William1783
L&P/11/71Paper, 'Introduction to their catalogue of Flamsteed's stars not inserted in the British catalogue' by William Herschel and Caroline Herschel1798
IM/002056Herschel, Sir William1892
IM/005343Herschel, Sir William1995
L&P/8/90/2Plate, 'Projection of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy' by William Herschel1784
L&P/8/90/3Plate, 'Nebulae observed through a 20-foot focal length reflecting telescope' by William Herschel 1784
AP/2/12/4Diagrams, position of comet 15-19 April 1781 by [William Herschel][1781]
L&P/8/90/4Plate, 'Methods of gaging the heavens' by William Herschel 1784
NLB/11/59Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor Alexander Stewart Herschel, Fellow of the Royal Society8 April 1895
NLB/11/71Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor Alexander Stewart Herschel, Fellow of the Royal Society10 April 1895
NLB/16/898Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to C Bryan Oliver, Assembly Rooms, Bath29 June 1898
L&P/8/27Paper, 'The occultation of Algol' by William Herschel1783
NLB/32/29Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Colonel John Herschel, Fellow of the Royal Society14 December 1905
L&P/8/130/1Paper, 'On the construction of the heavens' by William Herschel1 January 1785
L&P/8/130/2Plate, 'Theoretical stellar structures and a ring nebula' by William Herschel1785
PT/1/17/2Plate, figures showing arrangement of constellations by [William Herschel][1807]
L&P/7/159/1Paper, 'Astronomical observations concerning the mountains of the Moon' by William Herschel1780
L&P/8/130/3Plate, 'Structure of the Milky Way galaxy' by William Herschel1785
L&P/9/2Paper, 'Investigation of the cause of that indistinctness of vision which has been ascribed to the smallness of the optic pencil' by William Herschel1786
L&P/8/19/1Letter, 'On the proper motion of the Sun and the solar system' from William Herschel to unknown recipient1 February 1783
L&P/9/53Letter, 'Observations of a Lunar crater' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks20 May 1787
L&P/10/67Paper, 'Account of some particulars observed during the late eclipse of the Sun' by William Herschel1794
L&P/11/72Paper, 'Introduction to their index of Flamsteed's observations of the fixed stars in the second volume of Historia Coelestis' by William Herschel and Caroline Herschel1 March 1798
L&P/11/73Paper, 'Explanatory remarks on their collection of errata to Flamsteed's second volume of Historia Coelestis' by William Herschel and Caroline Herschel1 March 1798
L&P/8/90Paper, 'An account of some observations tending to investigate the structure of the heavens' by William Herschel1784
L&P/7/228Paper, 'Catalogue of double stars' by William Herschel1781
L&P/12/117Letter, 'A comet in Aquarius' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks8 December 1805
L&P/7/236/1Paper, 'Description of the lamp-micrometer' by William Herschel 28 January 1782
L&P/8/111Paper, 'Catalogue of double stars' by William Herschel1 November 1784
L&P/10/71/2Plate, 'Axis of Saturn' by William Herschel1794
L&P/9/40Letter, 'An account of three volcanoes in the Moon' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks21 April 1787
L&P/7/216Letter, 'On the comet' by William Herschel to Paul Henry Maty24 June 1781
L&P/9/91/1Paper, 'On the Georgian planet and its satellites' by William Herschel1 March 1787
L&P/10/65/1Letter, 'Observations of a quintuple belt on Saturn' from William Herschel to unknown recipient14 December 1793
L&P/7/195/4Plate, 'Micrometer' by William Herschel1781
L&P/9/124Paper, 'On polishing specula by a machine' by William Herschel4 March 1789
L&P/7/225/1Letter, 'On the parallax of the fixed stars' by William Herschel to Nevil Maskelyne1781
L&P/7/237Paper, 'Postscript to catalogue of double stars' by William Herschel25 December 1781
CD/73Documents on the collected scientific papers of William Herschel, for consideration of Council of the Royal Society1910-1923
L&P/7/195Paper, 'Further of the comet and of a micrometer for taking angles of position' by William Herschel1781
L&P/7/159/2Plate, 'Figures demonstrating the dimensions of mountains on the Moon' by William Herschel1780
L&P/7/225/2Plate, 'Geometric figures' by William Herschel1781
L&P/7/225Paper, 'On the parallax of the fixed stars' by William Herschel1781
L&P/7/195/2Plate, 'Position of comet' by William Herschel1781
L&P/12/24/1Paper, 'Observations on the two lately discovered celestial bodies' by William Herschel3 May 1802
L&P/7/195/3Plate, 'Position of comet' by William Herschel1781
L&P/9/186Paper, 'On nebulous stars properly so called' by William Herschel1 January 1791
L&P/7/250/2Plate, 'Optical diagram' by William Herschel1782
L&P/7/250/1Letter, 'On the powers of my seven foot Newtonian telescope' from William Herschel to unknown recipient25 March 1782
L&P/7/192/2Plate, 'Star atlas' by William Herschel1781
L&P/9/30/1Paper, 'An account of the discovery of two satellites revolving around the Georgian planet' by William Herschel1787
L&P/7/192/3Plate, 'Star stlas' by William Herschel1781
L&P/8/19/5Plate, 'Figure indicating position of stars' by William Herschel1783
L&P/8/19/4Plate, 'Figure indicating position of stars, in relation to the Sun' by William Herschel1783
L&P/7/195/1Letter, 'Further of the comet and of a micrometer for taking angles of position' from William Herschel to William Watson1781
L&P/8/19/2Plate, 'Figures indicating positions of stars' by William Herschel1783
L&P/7/192/1Letters, 'Of a comet seen on 13 March' from William Herschel to William Watson27 March 1781
L&P/10/55/1Paper, 'Observations of the planet Venus' by William Herschel1793
L&P/10/65/2Plate, 'Observations of Saturn and Jupiter' by William Herschel1793
L&P/8/61/2Plate, 'Diagrams of Mars' by William Herschel1783
L&P/7/250Paper, 'On the powers of my seven foot Newtonian telescope' by William Herschel25 March 1782
L&P/8/61/5Plate, 'Tract of the bright South polar spot on Mars in October 1783' by William Herschel1783
L&P/8/61/6Plate, 'Polar regions of Mars' by William Herschel1783
L&P/9/91/2Plate, 'Figures of the satellites of the Georgian planet' by William Herschel1787
L&P/9/30/2Plate, 'Position of satellites roving around the Georgian planet' by William Herschel1787
L&P/8/185Paper, 'Catalogue of one thousand new nebulae and clusters' by William Herschel1786
L&P/9/215/1Paper, 'On the ring of Saturn' by William Herschel22 November 1791
L&P/9/215/2Plate, 'Rings of Saturn' by William Herschel1791
L&P/9/145/6Plate, 'Movement of Saturn's rings' by William Herschel1789
L&P/12/103/2Plate, 'Parallatic motion of a star' by William Herschel1805
L&P/9/145/5Plate, 'View of Saturn, 11 May 1780' by William Herschel1789
L&P/9/30Paper, 'An account of the discovery of two satellites revolving around the Georgian planet' by William Herschel1787
L&P/12/21Letter, 'Observations of the new planet Ceres Ferdinandea' from Johann Elert Bode to William Herschel20 March 1802
L&P/11/88Paper, 'A fourth catalogue of the comparative brightness of the stars' by William Herschel28 January 1799
L&P/12/110/1Paper, 'Observations on the singular figure of the planet Saturn' by William Herschel1806
L&P/10/67/2Plate, 'Observations of the eclipse of the Sun' by William Herschel1794
L&P/10/71/1Paper, 'On the rotation of Saturn upon its axis' by William Herschel22 January 1794
L&P/10/67/1Paper, 'Account of some particulars observed during the late eclipse of the Sun' by William Herschel1794
L&P/10/55/2Plate, 'Observations on Venus' by William Herschel1793
L&P/9/91Paper, 'On the Georgian planet and its satellites' by William Herschel1 March 1787
L&P/9/174/1Paper, 'On the satellites of the planet Saturn; and on the rotation of its ring on an axis' by William Herschel1790
L&P/9/93Letter, 'Referring to the Georgian planet and its satellites' from William Herschel to Mr Nichols, printer1788
L&P/10/55Paper, 'Observations of the planet Venus' by William Herschel1 June 1793
L&P/9/174/2Plate, 'The seven satellites of Saturn as they appeared to be situated on the 18th of October at 7.51.54, 1789' by William Herschel1790
L&P/10/71Paper, 'On the rotation of Saturn upon its axis' by William Herschel22 January 1794
L&P/11/140/1Paper, 'On solar and terrestrial rays causing heat' by William Herschel [Continued]1800
L&P/9/215Paper, 'On the ring of Saturn' by William Herschel22 November 1791
L&P/12/24/2Plate, 'Satellites' by William Herschel1802
L&P/10/65Paper, 'Observations of a quintuple belt on Saturn' by William Herschel14 December 1793
L&P/12/110/2Plate, 'Saturn' by William Herschel1805
L&P/9/174Paper, 'On the satellites of the planet Saturn; and on the rotation of its ring on an axis' by William Herschel1790
L&P/9/216Paper, 'Miscellaneous observations and account of a comet' by William Herschel17 December 1791
L&P/10/102Paper, 'On the nature and construction of the sun and fixed stars' by William Herschel10 December 1794
L&P/8/130Paper, 'On the construction of the heavens' by William Herschel1 January 1785
L&P/12/103/1Paper, 'On the direction and velocity of the motion of the sun and solar system' by William Herschel1805
L&P/7/236Paper, 'Description of the lamp-micrometer' by William Herschel28 January 1782
L&P/12/103Paper, 'On the direction and velocity of the motion of the sun and solar system' by William Herschel1805
L&P/11/125Paper, 'Experiments on the refrangibility of the invisible rays of the sun' by William Herschel17 March 1800
L&P/11/31/3Plate, 'Figure of the brightness of the satellite of Jupiter' by William Herschel1797
L&P/11/31/4Plate, 'Figure of the brightness of the satellite of Jupiter' by William Herschel1797
L&P/11/40/3Plate, 'Astronomical observations' by William Herschel1797
L&P/12/10Letter, 'Observations of the new planet, Ceres Ferdinandea' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks14 February 1802
L&P/11/40/2Plate, 'Astronomical observations' by William Herschel1797
L&P/7/159Paper, 'Astronomical observations concerning the mountains of the Moon' by William Herschel1780
L&P/11/31/1Paper, 'Observations of the changeable brightness of the satellites of Jupiter and of the variation in their apparent magnitudes' by William Herschel30 April 1797
L&P/12/77/2Plate, 'Motion in relative situations of double stars' by William Herschel1803
L&P/11/140/2Plate, 'Graph of rays causing heat' by William Herschel1800
L&P/12/77Paper, 'Continuation of the account of the changes that have happened in the relative situations of double stars' by William Herschel1804
L&P/11/159/1Paper, 'Observations tending to investigate the nature of the sun' by William Herschel1801
L&P/11/159/2Plate, 'Observations of the nature of the sun' by William Herschel1801
L&P/12/77/1Paper, 'Continuation of the account of the changes that have happened in the relative situations of double stars' by William Herschel1804
L&P/12/125/3Plate, 'The angles of the directions remain as in the fourth column, but the lines are lengthened so as to give us the velocities contained in the sixth' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/125/1Paper, 'On the quantity and velocity of the solar motion' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/85/2Plate, 'Notation of small stars seen with telescope' by William Herschel1804
L&P/12/85/1Paper, 'Experiments to determine how far telescopes will enable one to determine very small angles' by William Herschel1 December 1804
L&P/12/125/4Plate, 'The same motions, but instead of being drawn so as to show their directions with regard to the several meridians and parallels of the stars, they are laid down by the angles contained in the fifth column' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/142/3Plate, The spheroidical form of the planet as observed on 5th of May 1805, at which time the singularity of the shape since discovered was unknown' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/125/5Plate, 'The angles of the third figure are preserved, but the lines are again lengthened as in Fig. 2' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/142/4Plate, 'The breadth of the ring is to the space between the ring and the body of Saturn' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/142/2Plate, 'The spheroidical form of the planet as observed in 1789, at which time the singularity of the shape since discovered was unknown' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/142/1Paper, 'Observations and remarks on the figure, the climat and the atmosphere of Saturn and its ring' by William Herschel12 June 1806
L&P/12/110Paper, 'Observations on the singular figure of the planet Saturn' by William Herschel1805
IM/002063Herschel, Sir Williamnd
RSL/1/31'Extract of a letter from Monsieur Mechain, a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, to Mr de Magellan, dated the 25 February 1783 on the element or orbit of the new planet discovered by Mr Herschel FRS and on the late transit of Mercury with some observations of the best [ ] of the Pleiades'1783
CMB/42/2/2Minutes, meeting of the Royal Medal Committee in Astronomy3 April 1833
IM/002059Herschel, Sir Williamnd
L&P/11/161/1Paper, 'Additional observations on the nature of the sun' by William Herschel4 May 1801
L&P/12/125/6Plate, 'Two last figures would have been of an inconvenient size if they had been drawn on the same scale with the two foregoing ones, for which reason, in comparing the second and fourth with the first and third, it must be remembered that the former are reduced to one half of the dimensions of the latter' by William Herschel1806
AP/2/12Paper, 'Account of a comet' by Wm [William] Herschel[1781]
IM/002061Herschel, Sir Williamnd
PT/4/6Paper, 'Supplement to the first and second part of the paper of experiments for investigating the cause of coloured concentric rings between object glasses and other appearances of a similar nature' by Wm [William] Herschele [Herschel][1810]
PT/2/12/1Manuscript, 'Observations of a comet made with a view to investigate its magnitude and the nature of its illumination. To which is added an account of a new irregularity lately perceived in the apparent figure of the planet Saturn' by William Herschel[1808]
PT/4/6/1Manuscript, 'Supplement to the first and second part of the paper of experiments for investigating the cause of coloured concentric rings between object glasses and other appearances of a similar nature' by Wm [William] Herschele [Herschel][1810]
PT/1/10Paper, 'Experiments for investigating the cause of the coloured concentric rings discovered by Sir I [Isaac] Newton between two object glasses laid upon one another' by William Herschel[1807]
PT/5/16/4Plate, nebulous star observed on 4 March 1774 by unknown artist[1811]
PT/4/6/2Plate, eight figures showing light passing through object glasses by unknown artist[1810]
PT/4/6/3Plate, six figures showing light passing through object glasses by unknown artist[1810]
PT/5/16/5Plate, copy of a nebula observed by Huygens in 1656 by unknown artist[1811]
PT/8/15/3Plate, four illustrations of stars and groups of stars by [William Herschel][1814]
PT/8/15/1Manuscript, 'Astronomical observations relating to the sidereal part of the heavens, and its connection with the nebulous part; arranged for the purpose of a critical examination' by William Herschel[1814]
PT/8/15/2Plate, 13 illustrations of stars and groups of stars by [William Herschel][1814]
PT/9/19/1Manuscript, 'A series of observations of the satellites of the Georgian planet, including a passage through the node of their orbits; with an introductory account of the telescopic apparatus that has been used on this occasion; and a final exposition of some calculated particulars deduced from the observations' by William Herschel[1815]
PT/9/19/2Plate, diagrams of satellite positions by unknown artist[1815]
PT/12/23/2Plate, arrangement of stars within celestial globe by [William Herschel][1818]
PT/12/23/3Plate, diagrams of azimuths and distances of stars by [William Herschel][1818]
PT/3/18Paper, 'Continuation of experiments for investigating the cause of coloured concentric rings, and other appearances of a similar nature' by Wm [William] Herschel9 December 1808
PT/7/2Paper, 'On a remarkable application of Cotes's theorem' by J F W [John Frederick William] Herschel6 October 1812
PT/6/11Paper, 'Observations of a second comet, with remarks on its construction' by William Herschel[1812]
PT/5/16/3Plate, 28 figures of nebulas and other celestial objects by unknown artist[1811]
PT/1/10/1Manuscript, 'Experiments for investigating the cause of the coloured concentric rings discovered by Sir I [Isaac] Newton between two object glasses laid upon one another' by William Herschel[1807]
PT/8/15Paper, 'Astronomical observations relating to the sidereal part of the heavens, and its connection with the nebulous part; arranged for the purpose of a critical examination' by William Herschel[1814]
PT/1/17/1Manuscript, 'Observations on the nature of the new celestial body discovered by Dr [Heinrich] Olbers, and of the comet which was expected to appear last January in its return from the sun' by Wm [William] Herschel[1807]
PT/5/16/2Plate, 12 figures of nebulas and other celestial objects by unknown artist[1811]
PT/2/12/2Plate, illustration showing phases of a comet by [Willam Herschel][1808]
PT/5/16/1Manuscript, 'Astronomical observations relating to the construction of the heavens, arranged for the purpose of a critical examination, the result of which appears to throw some new light upon the organization of the celestial bodies' by Wm [William] Herschel26 May 1811
AP/2/12/1Manuscript, 'Account of a comet' by Wm [William] Herschel[1781]
AP/2/12/2Diagrams, position of comet 13-28 March 1781 by [William Herschel][1781]
AP/2/12/5Diagrams, position of comet 2-16 April 1781 by [William Herschel][1781]
AP/2/12/3Diagrams, position of comet 29 March to 6 April 1781 by [William Herschel][1781]
PT/1/10/2Plate, figures showing arrangements of lenses and glasses by unknown artist[1807]
MC/6Volume 6 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1859-1863
PT/73/6/18Drawing, figure representing stars in the Milky Way by [William Herschel][1817]
PT/73/6/17Drawing, arcs of the distances of stars by [William Herschel][1817]
AP/7/15/1Unpublished letter, on de Valangin's paper from George Ellis Petch to the Secretary of the Royal Society3 November 1805
L&P/8/90/1Paper, 'An account of some observations tending to investigate the structure of the heavens' by William Herschel1784
L&P/8/19/3Plate, 'Figure indicating position of stars' by William Herschel1783
L&P/8/61/3Plate, 'Tract of the bright North polar spot on Mars in June and July 1781' by William Herschel1783
L&P/8/61/4Plate, 'Tract of the bright South polar spot on Mars in June and July 1781' by William Herschel1783
L&P/11/2Paper, 'On the periodical star Herculis; with remarks tending to establish the rotatory motion of the stars on their axes, to which is added a second catalogue of the comparative brightness of the stars' by William Herschel1 June 1796
L&P/9/145/1Letter, 'Account of the discovery of a sixth and seventh satellite of the planet Saturn, with remarks on the construction of its ring, its atmosphere, its rotation on an axis and its spherodical figure' from William Herschel to unknown recipient3 November 1789
L&P/9/145/3Plate, 'View of Saturn, 3 April 1774' by William Herschel1789
L&P/9/145/2Plate, 'View of Saturn, 17 March 1774' by William Herschel1789
L&P/9/145/4Plate, 'View of Saturn, 20 June 1778' by William Herschel1789
L&P/11/124/1Paper, 'Of the powers of the prismatic colours to heat and illuminate objects...refrangibility of radiant heat...method of viewing the sun with telescopes of large apertures' by William Herschel1800
L&P/11/31/2Plate, 'Figure of the brightness of the satellite of Jupiter' by William Herschel1797
L&P/11/31/5Plate, 'Figure of the brightness of the satellite of Jupiter' by William Herschel1797
L&P/11/40/1Paper, 'On the discovery of four additional satellites of the Georgium Sidus. The retrograde motion of its old satellites announced and the cuase of their disappearance at certain distances from the planet explained' by William Herschel1 September 1797
L&P/11/124/2Plate, 'Experimental apparatus' by William Herschel1800
L&P/12/125/7Plate, 'Two last figures would have been of an inconvenient size if they had been drawn on the same scale with the two foregoing ones, for which reason, in comparing the second and fourth with the first and third, it must be remembered that the former are reduced to one half of the dimensions of the latter' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/125/2Plate, 'Motions brought into one view, so that by supposing successively every one of the stars to be represented by the central point of the figure, we may see the angular quantity and direction of the several annual proper motions represented by the line which is drawn from the centre to each star' by William Herschel1806
L&P/8/61/1Letter, 'On the remarkable appearance of the polar regions of Mars and inclination of its axis' from William Herschel to Charles Blagden1 December 1783
L&P/11/124Paper, 'Of the powers of the prismatic colours to heat and illuminate objects...refrangibility of radiant heat...method of viewing the sun with telescopes of large apertures' by William Herschel8 March 1800
L&P/11/29Paper, 'A third catagloue of the comparative brightness of stars; with introductory account of an index to Mr Flamsteed's Observations of the fixed stars' by William Herschel12 April 1797
L&P/11/40Paper, 'On the discovery of four additional satellites of the Georgium Sidus. The retrograde motion of its old satellites announced and the cuase of their disappearance at certain distances from the planet explained' by William Herschel1 September 1797
MS/272Nebulae sweep books of William Herschel1783-1802
PT/1/17Paper, 'Observations on the nature of the new celestial body discovered by Dr [Heinrich] Olbers, and of the comet which was expected to appear last January in its return from the sun' by Wm [William] Herschel[1807]
PT/5/16Paper, 'Astronomical observations relating to the construction of the heavens, arranged for the purpose of a critical examination, the result of which appears to throw some new light upon the organization of the celestial bodies' by Wm [William] Herschel26 May 1811
PT/12/23/1Manuscript, 'Astronomical observations and experiments, selected for the purpose of ascertaining the relative distances of clusters of stars, and of investigating how far the power of our telescopes may be expected to reach into space when directed to ambiguous celestial objects' by Sir Wm [William] Herschel[1818]
MC/6/210Letter from J F W [John Frederick William] Herschel, Collingwood, to Professor [George Gabriel] Stokes, Secretary of the Royal Society3 March 1862
L&P/10/123/1Paper, 'Description of a forty feet reflecting telescope' by William Herschel18 May 1795
MS/279Catalogue of nebulae observed by William Herschel, compiled by Caroline Lucretia Herschel1800
RR/16/325Referee's report by William Huggins, on a paper 'Fifth & sixth catalogues of the comparative brightness of the stars; in continuation of those printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1796-1799' by the late Sir William Herschel July 1905
L&P/12/34Paper, 'Catalogue of 500 new nebulae, with remarks on the construction of the heavens' by William Herschel1802
L&P/10/135Letter, 'Additional observations on the comet' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks11 November 1795
L&P/9/123Letter, 'Observations on a comet (Caroline Herschel's of 21 December 1788)' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks1789
L&P/9/136Paper, 'Catalogue of a second thousand of new nebulae and cluster of stars; with a few introductory remarks on the construction of the Heavens' by William Herschel1789
L&P/9/8Paper, 'Account of a new comet' by Caroline Herschel2 August 1786
L&P/8/25Paper, 'Postscript on the proper motion of the Sun and the solar system' by William Herschel1783
L&P/11/140Paper, 'On solar and terrestrial rays causing heat' by William Herschel [Continued]1800
L&P/7/184Letter, 'Astronomical observations on the rotations of planets about their axes, in connection with the diurnal motion of the earth' from William Herschel to William Watson18 October 1780
L&P/8/19Paper, 'On the proper motion of the Sun and the solar system' by William Herschel1 February 1783
L&P/8/61Paper, 'On the remarkable appearance of the polar regions of Mars and inclination of its axis' by William Herschel1783
L&P/9/9Letter, 'Remarks on the new comet' from William Herschel to Charles Blagden15 November 1786
L&P/9/145Paper, 'Account of the discovery of a sixth and seventh satellite of the planet Saturn, with remarks on the construction of its ring, its atmosphere, its rotation on an axis and its spherodical figure' by William Herschel3 November 1789
L&P/10/123Paper, 'Description of a forty feet reflecting telescope' by William Herschel18 May 1795
L&P/10/141Paper, 'Method of observing the changes that happen to the fixed stars; remarks on the stability of light of the sun; also a catalogue of comparative brightness for ascertaining the permanancy of the lustre of the stars' by William Herschel1 January 1796
L&P/11/31Paper, 'Observations of the changeable brightness of the satellites of Jupiter and of the variation in their apparent magnitudes' by William Herschel30 April 1797
L&P/11/108Paper, 'On the power of penetrating into space by the telescope' by William Herschel20 June 1799
L&P/11/131Paper, 'Observations on the colar and terrestrial rays that occasion heat' by William Herschel26 April 1800
L&P/11/159Paper, 'Observations tending to investigate the nature of the sun' by William Herschel1801
L&P/11/161Paper, 'Additional observations on the nature of the sun' by William Herschel4 May 1801
L&P/12/24Paper, 'Observations on the two lately discovered celestial bodies' by William Herschel3 May 1802
L&P/12/47Paper, 'Observation of the transit of Mercury over the sun and an investigation of the causes which often prevent the proper action of mirrors' by William Herschel30 January 1803
L&P/12/57Paper, 'Changed in the relative positions of double stars during the last 25 years and the reasons' by William Herschel1803
L&P/12/85Paper, 'Experiments to determine how far telescopes will enable one to determine very small angles' by William Herschel1 December 1804
L&P/12/125Paper, 'On the quantity and velocity of the solar motion' by William Herschel1806
L&P/12/142Paper, 'Observations and remarks on the figure, the climat and the atmosphere of Saturn and its ring' by William Herschel12 June 1806
PT/11/24Paper, 'Astronomical observations and experiments tending to investigate the local arrangement of the celestial bodies in space, and to determine the extent and condition of the Milky Way' by Sir William Herschel10 May 1817
PT/12/23Paper, 'Astronomical observations and experiments, selected for the purpose of ascertaining the relative distances of clusters of stars, and of investigating how far the power of our telescopes may be expected to reach into space when directed to ambiguous celestial objects' by Sir Wm [William] Herschel[1818]
PT/2/12Paper, 'Observations of a comet made with a view to investigate its magnitude and the nature of its illumination. To which is added an account of a new irregularity lately perceived in the apparent figure of the planet Saturn' by William Herschel[1808]
PT/9/19Paper, 'A series of observations of the satellites of the Georgian planet, including a passage through the node of their orbits; with an introductory account of the telescopic apparatus that has been used on this occasion; and a final exposition of some calculated particulars deduced from the observations' by William Herschel[1815]
L&P/8/1Letter, The name of a new planet [Uranus] is announced as Georgium Sidus; with a description of the same' from William Herschel to Joseph Banks1782
L&P/7/192Paper, 'Of a comet [Uranus] seen on 13 March' by William Herschel1781
HS/19/172aPress cuttings from letters sent to the editor of the Stroud Journal1862
HS/19/185First version of Sir William Herschel's epitaph in Slough Churchyard, by Sir John Frederick William Herschel1822
HS/2/49Letter, from William Herschel to Charles Babbage, dated at Slough28 November 1815
HS/13/393Letter, from Giuseppe Piazzi to William Herschel, dated at Napoli2 September 1820
HS/14/169Letter, from John Playfair to William Herschel, dated at Edinburgh16 June 1812
HS/13/207Letter, from Alexis F. Orloff to William Herschel, dated at Brighton1 October 1821
HS/16/412Letter, from James South to William Herschel, dated at Blackman St., Southwark22 July 1820
HS/13/146Letter, from George Nayler to William Herschel, dated at Heralds' College10 April 1818
HS/19/187Final clean copy of Sir William Herschel's epitaph in Slough Churchyard1822
HS/19/186Revised version of Sir William Herschel's epitaph in Slough Churchyard, by Sir John Frederick William Herschel1822
HS/19/173List of letters from Sir John Herschel in the Sabine correspondence20th century
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    Browse the records of some of our collections, which cover all branches of science and date from the 12th century onwards. These include the published works of Fellows of the Royal Society, personal papers of eminent scientists, letters and manuscripts sent to the Society or presented at meetings, and administrative records documenting the Society's activities since our foundation in 1660.

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