Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) and his sister Caroline Herschel (1750-1848), who were born in Hanover, later lived at 19 New King Street (later the Herschel Museum of Astronomy) from 1779. It was whilst living here that their interest in astronomy developed. Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus from the garden of this house in March 1871, using a telescope of his own construction. His sister Caroline made several discoveries including eight comets between 1786 and 1797, and in 1802 the Royal Society published her 'Catalogue of Stars...' which listed more than 560 stars not included in John Flamsteed's original work. Caroline Herschel was a trail blazing scientist, being the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist, and the first woman in England to hold a government position. In later life she was awarded a Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and was named an Honorary Member. (Wikipedia). The Herschel Museum of Astronomy opened in William and Caroline's former home in 1981.
This is part of the Job: 2K/32558 Herschel Museum, 18-19 New King Street, Bath; within the Volume: VF000603 Women's History Month; within the Series: HEC01/144 Women's History Month; within the Collection: HEC01 Historic England
© Historic England Archive
Photographer: Davies, James O: Historic England
Georgian Terraced House, Late 20th Century Museum, Historic Person, Science And Technology, Women's History
Our website works best with the latest version of the browsers below, unfortunately your browser is not supported. Using an old browser means that some parts of our website might not work correctly.
