Correspondence Explorer

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Showing 350 letters from 1824–1871

295 letters from George Biddell Airy; 55 letters from John Frederick William Herschel

George Biddell Airy

British astronomer and mathematician

Born: 27 July 1801

Died: 02 January 1892

Elected to the Royal Society Fellowship: 21/01/1836

View all items sent or received by George Biddell Airy
John Frederick William Herschel

Mathematician and astronomer

Born: 07 March 1792

Died: 11 May 1871

Elected to the Royal Society Fellowship: 27/05/1813

View all items sent or received by John Frederick William Herschel

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George Biddell Airy

John Frederick William Herschel

John Frederick William Herschel moves to 56 Devonshire St., Portland Place, London

1824

John Frederick William Herschel serves as Secretary of the Royal Society

30 November 1824

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requesting information of the dispersion of rays in Crown and Flint glass.

Reference number: HS/1/19

Autograph letter signed by sender. Description of theory of a telescope, though not practical yet.

Reference number: HS/1/20

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning calculations for the parallax of Mars.

Reference number: HS/1/21

1825

John Frederick William Herschel invents the actinometer to measure the heating power of the Sun’s rays

1825

1826

John Frederick William Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions

1826: John Frederick William Herschel publishes “On the parallax of the fixed stars”.

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking for introductions to certain men of science in Paris. Revision of his views on his figure of the earth, and casting doubt on Edward Sabine's pendulum observations.

Reference number: HS/1/22

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sending his paper on the 'Figure of the Earth.' Description of work at Greenwich Observatory. Remarks on projected expedition to Falmouth and Ashbourne.

Reference number: HS/1/23

Autograph letter signed by sender. Instructions regarding the printing of his paper the 'Figure of the Earth' in the transactions. Details of the disappointing expedition to Falmouth.

Reference number: HS/1/24

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanking him for his letters of introduction to Paris. Remarks on one of George Biddell Airy's papers; one of his calculations incorrect.

Reference number: HS/1/25

Autograph letter signed by sender. Information on a Mr. Atkinson. Remarks on dispersion of rays in glass.

Reference number: HS/1/26

1827

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce presents his photographs in England for the first time

1827

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking for the procedure for bringing business before the Board of Longitude. Has found solar tables incorrect.

Reference number: HS/1/27

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requesting permission to borrow Christiaan Huygens's telescope. Postscript of further remarks on the solar tables.

Reference number: HS/1/28

Autograph letter signed by sender. Giving his reasons for wanting to borrow Christiaan Huygens's telescope. Postscript on recent observations with a prism.

Reference number: HS/1/29

Autograph letter signed by sender. Questions concerning a vacant professorship at Dublin Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/30

Autograph letter signed by sender. Proposed visit to Dublin and letters of introduction from John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/1/31

Autograph letter signed by sender. Observations on the position of professorship at Dublin, conditions of service, income, etc.

Reference number: HS/1/32

Autograph letter signed by sender. No news of Dublin. Remarks on a series of experiments. Observations on John Frederick William Herschel's paper on the Nautical Almanac.

Reference number: HS/1/33

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further observations on John Frederick William Herschel's paper on the Nautical Almanac.

Reference number: HS/1/34

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requesting a copy of John Frederick William Herschel's paper on 'Object planes.' Encloses with this letter his own paper on 'Eyepieces.' Requesting that Greenwich Observations be sent to the University Library, Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/1/35

1828

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking John Frederick William Herschel to express his willingness to becoming Lucasian Professor at Cambridge University.

Reference number: HS/1/36

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking John Frederick William Herschel's opinion on how he should print his catalogue of observations of transits. Requests information on any forthcoming comets.

Reference number: HS/1/37

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking John Frederick William Herschel to get in touch with Charles Babbage. Thanking him for his observations on his catalogue of stars and transits.

Reference number: HS/1/38

1829

John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart are married in London

3 March 1829

Autograph letter signed by sender. Remarks about his recent tour of Italy including his meeting with G. A. A. Plana and other Italian astronomers How to observe the Moon's mass.

Reference number: HS/1/39

1830

John Frederick William Herschel is elected Foreign correspondent of the Académie des sciences

1830

Birth of Caroline Emilia Mary Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

31 March 1830

John Frederick William Herschel is nominated for the presidency of the Royal Society, loses by 8 votes to the Duke of Sussex

30 November 1830

Autograph letter signed by sender. Giving observations on stars. Discussion of clock rates and sky sweeps.

Reference number: HS/1/40

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informing John Frederick William Herschel that he and George Biddell Airy have just been appointed to a committee to consider the extension of the Astronomical Society's catalogue. Observations on this catalogue.

Reference number: HS/1/41

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants John Frederick William Herschel's views on a 20-foot reflector. Inviting him to Cambridge. With this letter he encloses Volume 2 of the Cambridge Observatory's Observations and Lectures in Optics.

Reference number: HS/1/42

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends volume of observations. Remarks on A. J. Fresnel's experiments. Lists errors in John Frederick William Herschel's treatise on light. Requests information on circular double refraction.

Reference number: HS/1/43

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses paper 'Figure of the Earth.' Wants information on rays in quartz. Has tried A. J. Fresnel's experiments.

Reference number: HS/1/44

Draft in John Herschel's hand. Comments on Airy's and Edward Sabine's work on the figure of the earth; describes some results Herschel obtained from using quartz for polarizing light, and is unhappy with the proposed recipient of the Royal Astronomical Society medal, M. C. T. Damoiseau, whose lunar theory Herschel cannot understand.

Reference number: HS/1/45

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Comments on George Biddell Airy's and Edward Sabine's work on the figure of the earth; describes some results John Frederick William Herschel obtained from using quartz for polarizing light, and is unhappy with the proposed recipient of the R.A.S. medal, M. C. T. Damoiseau, whose lunar theory John Frederick William Herschel cannot understand.

Reference number: HS/21/77

Copy letter in John Herschel's hand. Thanks George Biddell Airy for the second volume of his observations; wishes the publications of the Astronomer Royal were as good; adds some comments on polarization of light by liquids, and then talks about observing Georgium Sidum [Uranus], and deals with the orbits of satellites of planets generally.

Reference number: HS/25/1/6

1831

Mary Somerville publishes Mechanism of the Heavens

1831

Sir John Herschel is created Knight of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order

1831

Sir John Herschel publishes Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy as part of Dionysius Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia.

1831

Birth of Isabella Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

5 June 1831

Autograph letter signed by sender. Opinion on M. C. T. Damoiseau's theory and tables; worth a medal.

Reference number: HS/1/46

Autograph letter signed by sender. Remarks on Greenwich observations.

Reference number: HS/1/47

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants 100 of John Frederick William Herschel's star forms. Wants any information on a collection of observations of Venus.

Reference number: HS/1/48

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informs John Frederick William Herschel that he has published a new edition of his tracts (to turn Cambridge mathematics to physical applications). Wants his permission to use his theory on biaxial crystals. Remarks on David Brewster's theories and experiments.

Reference number: HS/1/49

1832

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has been making optical experiments. Hopes to see John Frederick William Herschel in the Spring. Hopes John Frederick William Herschel will be able to observe Encke's comet this year.

Reference number: HS/1/50

Autograph letter signed by sender. Will he be visiting Cambridge this Spring?

Reference number: HS/1/51

Autograph letter signed by sender. Observations on the various ways of measuring angular positions (of double stars). Opinion on John Frederick William Herschel publishing his catalogue of nebulae. Remarks on the low standard of astronomical observations in England compared with the Continent.

Reference number: HS/1/52

Autograph letter signed by sender. Observations on the gravimeter.

Reference number: HS/1/53

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requests that the engravings for the catalogue of nebulae be speeded up. Further observations on the gravimeter. Observations on W. R. Hamilton's experiments on biaxial crystals using A. J. Fresnel's wave surface theory.

Reference number: HS/1/54

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requesting a copy of G. A. A. Plana and Francesco Carlini's 'Lunar Theory.' Further remarks on the practicability of the gravimeter.

Reference number: HS/1/55

1833

Sir John Herschel receives the Royal Medal from the Royal Society

1833: The Medal is awarded "For his paper on nebulae and clusters of stars, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1833."

Sir John Herschel publishes A treatise on astronomy as part of Dionysius Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia.

1833

Birth of William James Herschel, son of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1833

Sir John Herschel departs for South Africa with his wife and their three children

13 November 1833

Autograph letter signed by sender. Inviting John Frederick William Herschel to his house if he attends the meeting of the B.A.A.S. Proposes to visit John Frederick William Herschel in London.

Reference number: HS/1/56

Autograph letter signed by sender. Observations on the work of S. D. Poisson and P. G. le D. Pontecoulant. Is John Frederick William Herschel's 20-ft. telescope any use for measuring angles and distances? Discussion of solar spots.

Reference number: HS/1/57

Autograph letter signed by sender. Copy of letter to Hugh Percy (3rd Duke of Northumberland) stating that the Duke's offer of a refracting telescope of great power, to Cambridge Observatory would be a valuable gift. To John Frederick William Herschel: Remarks on gift of telescope, planet reduction money, and on his geological exploration of the Charnwood Forest.

Reference number: HS/1/58

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has visited Hugh Percy (3rd Duke of Northumberland) at Buxton, who suggests that John Frederick William Herschel approaches R. A. Cauchoix for the glass for the new telescope.

Reference number: HS/1/59

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further discussion of the telescope being donated by Hugh Percy (3rd Duke of Northumberland).

Reference number: HS/1/60

Autograph letter signed by sender. Summary of the letter of same date sent to John Frederick William Herschel at Slough (HS.1.60).

Reference number: HS/1/61

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has not been requested to settle the affair about Henry Taylor and the Stephen Groombridge business. Would John Frederick William Herschel send him what he has ready for printing, with directions? Observations on the 4th satellite of Jupiter.

Reference number: HS/1/62

Copy letter in John Herschel's hand. Encourages George Biddell Airy to consider favorably the offer of Hugh Percy [Duke of Northumberland] of donating a telescope to Cambridge Observatory.

Reference number: HS/25/3/16

1834

Birth of Margaret Louisa Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1834

Autograph letter signed by sender. Observations on the weather of the past winter. 42 Virginis. Printing of [Stephen] Groombridge's catalogue. Has written article for the Penny Cyclopaedia. Refracted light in prisms. Machine for polarization of the sky. Petition to Parliament to abolish religious tests for degrees at Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/1/63

Autograph letter signed by sender. Summary of George Biddell Airy's 1834-4-24, with additional information that he has written a book entitled Gravitation. Confusion over 42 Virginis. Affair between James South, and Edward Troughton and William Simms has been referred to arbitration. Experiments on Newton's rings by transmission. Letter to Thomas Maclear about his mural circle. Saw the eclipse of 16 July. Tarnish of John Frederick William Herschel's mirrors. R. A. Cauchoix's delay with telescope. [The final two pages of this letter are from Richarda Airy to Margaret Brodie Herschel.]

Reference number: HS/1/64

Autograph letter signed by sender. Abstracts of barometrical pressure in various parts of the earth. Has used James South's equatorial with Richard Sheepshanks's clockwork attached. Constitution of Paris Observatory being changed. D. F. J. Arago's experiments on glass and metal. Humphrey Lloyd's experiments on reflected light. Edinburgh's Observatory site likely to be changed. John Pond (Astronomer Royal) has been asked to resign. Thomas Maclear's Cape circle. Reasons for the delay in delivery of R. A. Cauchoix's telescope to Cambridge. House of Lords and Commons burnt down.

Reference number: HS/1/66

Sir John Herschel serves as President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of the Cape of Good Hope

1835

Halley’s comet becomes visible

28 November 1835

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has just been made president of the Royal Astronomical Society No news of John Pond's retirement. R. A. Cauchoix's telescope has arrived. Printing of his 1834 observations are well advanced.

Reference number: HS/1/68

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends his 1834 observations. Has received John Frederick William Herschel's weather observing instructions. Likely to accept the post of Astronomer Royal when John Pond resigns. Further remarks on new telescope and of E. J. Cooper's (near Sligo) - planetary disks - errors of divisions of circles. Possibility of small observatory in Upper Canada.

Reference number: HS/1/69

Draft in John Herschel's hand. Congratulates George Biddell Airy on being honored by H. M. Government [George Biddell Airy was offered a knighthood, which he declined], and of being appointed Astronomer Royal, and further tells George Biddell Airy about some of John Frederick William Herschel's observations, and the instruments in use [letter finished 11 Oct.].

Reference number: HS/1/70

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Congratulates George Biddell Airy on being honored by H. M. Government [George Biddell Airy was offered a knighthood, which he declined], and of being appointed Astronomer Royal, and further tells George Biddell Airy about some of John Frederick William Herschel's observations, and the instruments in use [letter finished 11 Oct.].

Reference number: HS/21/187

Copy letter in John Herschel's hand. Describes the tests and adjustments John Frederick William Herschel has recommended to Thomas Maclear to try to remove anomalies from the functioning of the transit circle at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope; also comments on the beauty of some southern nebulae.

Reference number: HS/25/4/7

1836

Birth of Alexander Stewart Herschel, son of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

5 February 1836

Autograph letter signed by sender. Past difficulties and faults with running of Royal Observatory. Hopes Halley's Comet has been observed. Further information on the telescope presented to Cambridge Observatory by Hugh Percy (3rd Duke of Northumberland). James Challis has succeeded George Biddell Airy at Cambridge. Proposed new railway near Royal Observatory and its effect on observations.

Reference number: HS/1/71

Autograph letter signed by sender. Another son born. Has given lectures at Cambridge University. Remarks on routine at Royal Observatory. St. Helena Observatory closed. Printing of the Greenwich Observations. 'Northumberland' telescope not ready yet. Observations on the Greenwich zenith tube. Estimates for the Observatory. Suggests that the Observatory should be moved to a new site. Railway plan near Greenwich altered. James MacCullagh's new theory of optics.

Reference number: HS/1/72

1837

Victoria becomes Queen of the United Kingdom

20 June 1837

Birth of John Herschel, son of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

29 October 1837

1838

Sir John Herschel returns from South Africa

1838: A banquet in presence of Queen Victoria is given to celebrate his return to Britain and made a Baronet.

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses official instructions to Thomas Maclear. Prices of telescopes. Remarks on caustics.

Reference number: HS/1/73

Draft in John Herschel's hand. About John Frederick William Herschel's visit to Carl Friedrich Gauss, and Gauss's well-devised magnetic measuring instruments.

Reference number: HS/1/74

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. About John Frederick William Herschel's visit to Carl Friedrich Gauss, and Gauss's well-devised magnetic measuring instruments.

Reference number: HS/21/254

1839

Sir John Herschel serves his first term as President of the Royal Astronomical Society

1839: to 1841

Birth of Maria Sophia Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1839

William Henry Fox Talbot presents his paper-based photographic process at the Royal Society

1839

Autograph letter signed by sender. Any news of Field Measuring bars?alteration in size of Observatory at Cape Town? Observations on use of magnetic needle. Has John Frederick William Herschel found a suitable country house yet?

Reference number: HS/1/75

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further observations on the alterations at Cape Town Observatory. Any news of the measuring bars?

Reference number: HS/1/76

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thomas Maclear's assistant and equipment arranged. Observations on copper horse-shoe bars applied to the end of his magnet.

Reference number: HS/1/77

Autograph letter signed by sender. Knows nothing about Kew Observatory, but has heard of the name of the present office holder there.

Reference number: HS/1/78

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has sent to John Frederick William Herschel papers relating to London University. Hopes John Frederick William Herschel will accept a senatorship.

Reference number: HS/1/79

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has lost two sons with scarlet fever. Description of house at Playford, Sussex.

Reference number: HS/1/80

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding C. F. Gauss's magnetical observations. Domestic happenings.

Reference number: HS/1/81

Autograph letter signed by sender. George Everest-Thomas Jervis affair.

Reference number: HS/1/82

Draft letter. George Everest-Thomas Jervis affair. Observations on the production of color by chemical rays.

Reference number: HS/1/83

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning John Frederick William Herschel's experiments with photogenic light. Encloses paper of the comparisons between John Frederick William Herschel's and the Observatory's barometers. The Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society [of London] want a subject for medals in astronomy, Royal Society [of London] for a Copley medal in anything.

Reference number: HS/1/84

Autograph letter signed by sender. Double image micrometer has arrived; limitations and use of it. Wants list of stars for regular observations.

Reference number: HS/1/85

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. George Everest-Thomas Jervis affair. Observations on the production of color by chemical rays.

Reference number: HS/22/27

1840

Sir John Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions

1840: Sir John Herschel publishes “On the chemical action of the rays of the solar spectrum on preparations of silver and other substances, both metallic and non-metallic; and on some photographic processes”

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Prof. Baden Powell's paper on dark bands. Is making catalogues of the moveables of the observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/86

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning prism refraction.

Reference number: HS/1/87

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the printing of Thomas Maclear's Survey papers. Work on magnetical and meteorological observations.

Reference number: HS/1/88

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding equipment at Royal Observatory. Comparison of planets.

Reference number: HS/1/89

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further observations on David Brewster's experiments. On heliometers. Observations on suggestions for Standards.

Reference number: HS/1/90

Autograph letter signed by sender. On the possibility of obtaining a heliometer from Munich.

Reference number: HS/1/91

1841

Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister

1841

Birth of Amelia Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1841

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sending two copies of the 'Extracts relating to Standards.' Remarks on these extracts. Requests John Frederick William Herschel to fix a date for a meeting to discuss the report.

Reference number: HS/1/92

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sending draft of report and appendix. Specimen of a gauging scale.

Reference number: HS/1/93

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informing John Frederick William Herschel of a meeting of the Commission on Standards at Somerset House on 28 May 1841.

Reference number: HS/1/94

Autograph letter signed by sender. ReGeorge Biddell Airyrding John Frederick William Herschel's examination of the observations of equinoxes and solstices; George Biddell Airy assures him that these occurrences are observed by Cambridge and Greenwich, though John Frederick William Herschel does not mention it. Hopes he has received the report of the last 'Standards' meeting.

Reference number: HS/1/95

Autograph letter signed by sender. Returning photographs. Hopes Lady Herschel is well. Remarks on Admiralty printing Planetary reductions.

Reference number: HS/1/96

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has sent John Frederick William Herschel's report on N. L. Lacaille's star computations to William Whewell.

Reference number: HS/1/97

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has received John Frederick William Herschel's 'Report' proof regarding John Frederick William Herschel's description of specific gravity. Captive balloons. Would John Frederick William Herschel refer him to D. F. J. Arago's experiments on the shadow of a disk.

Reference number: HS/1/98

1842

Birth of Julia Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1842

Sir John Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions

1842: Sir John Herschel publishes “On the action of the rays of the solar spectrum on vegetable colours, and on some new photographic processes”

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sending two papers, one for the Physical Committee.

Reference number: HS/1/99

Draft letter. Concerning Airy's papers recently submitted [see George Biddell Airy's 1842-1-5]. Hopes he will continue to send a report of his experiments and observations.

Reference number: HS/1/100

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's receipt of the 'Standard' reports. Remarks on the electrometer and barometer in the recent storm.

Reference number: HS/1/101

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding his letter writing. Has a promise of a trip on the Dover Railway.

Reference number: HS/1/102

Autograph letter signed by sender. Hopes to meet John Frederick William Herschel on 29 March.

Reference number: HS/1/103

Autograph letter signed by sender. Returns photographs of spectrum, with observations on the results.

Reference number: HS/1/104

Autograph letter signed by sender. Returning photographs, with observations. Regarding the transport of loads in hilly country. Remarks on the transcription and pronunciation of foreign languages.

Reference number: HS/1/105

Autograph letter signed by sender. Returning packet of papers on magnetism. Encloses copy of a letter he has sent to Edward Sabine. Has seen the recent eclipse of the sun.

Reference number: HS/1/106

Draft not in Herschel's hand. Information on the constitution of a sub-committee formed to revise instructions issued to the Magnetic Observatory. Further instructions regarding the functioning of this committee.

Reference number: HS/1/107

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses copy of a letter written to Edward Sabine. Wants instruments of quicker vibration.

Reference number: HS/1/108

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking John Frederick William Herschel for his views on Charles Babbage's calculating machine, so that he can pass on the information to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Reference number: HS/1/109

Draft letter. Reply to George Biddell Airy's letter on Charles Babbage's calculating machine.

Reference number: HS/1/110

Autograph letter signed by sender. Robinsons (Devonshire St.) have offered their standard Troy pound, together with its history for 20-0-0. [John Frederick William Herschel has added notes from his reply regarding the present whereabouts of the various Troy pounds.]

Reference number: HS/1/111

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further remarks on his letter concerning Charles Babbage's calculating machine (see George Biddell Airy's 1842-9-16) in order to clarify John Frederick William Herschel's mind.

Reference number: HS/1/112

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses the Chancellor of the Exchequer's letter concerning Charles Babbage's calculating machine.

Reference number: HS/1/113

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has arranged meeting to discuss N. L. Lacaille's observations. Sends a toy purchased in the streets of London.

Reference number: HS/1/114

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Concerning Airy's papers recently submitted [see George Biddell Airy's 1842-1-5]. Hopes he will continue to send a report of his experiments and observations.

Reference number: HS/22/110

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Is organizing a committee to revise the instructions for observers at magnetic observatories; George Biddell Airy is on it.

Reference number: HS/22/132

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Reply to George Biddell Airy's letter on Charles Babbage's calculating machine.

Reference number: HS/22/135

Copy letter in John Herschel's hand. About eclipse observations of 1842, together with John Frederick William Herschel's speculations about the existence of an atmosphere around the sun. Enclosed is an eclipse drawing by Francis Baily.

Reference number: HS/25/6/11

Contemporary copy in sender's hand, signed by sender. Remarks on the significant increase in brightness of the star Eta Cygni, and comments on several other variable stars.

Reference number: HS/25/6/13

Regarding the circulation of Airy's note on 'the Absolute Measure', as well as theories on the correlation of magnetic storms and auroras. Airy additionally references correspondence with [Adolphe] Quetelet.

Reference number: MC/3/202

1843

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sending copy of George Biddell Airy's 'Tides and Waves' for Encyclopaedia Metropolitana; would be glad of John Frederick William Herschel's comments. Also encloses his eclipse paper.

Reference number: HS/1/115

Autograph letter signed by sender. Answer to one of John Frederick William Herschel's on 9 January [apparently on equatorial telescopes].

Reference number: HS/1/116

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding William Cubitt (Engineer of the Dover Railway) and the proposed blasting down of the cliffs between Dover and Folkestone.

Reference number: HS/1/117

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further news of his proposed visit to Dover to see the blasting of the cliffs?

Reference number: HS/1/118

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding projected committee for the construction of new Standards for weights and measures. Any observations or further instructions for captain visiting the China coast?

Reference number: HS/1/119

Autograph letter signed by sender. Covering letter to one by Edward Cooper regarding appearance and observations on new comet.

Reference number: HS/1/120

Autograph letter signed by sender. Offers John Frederick William Herschel information about, and maps of, Switzerland, as George Biddell Airy understands John Frederick William Herschel is going there.

Reference number: HS/1/121

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Captain [Charles ?] Gray's letter. Robert Peel has written asking Francis Baily and W. H. Miller to do the 'Standards.'

Reference number: HS/1/122

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding H. C. Schumacher and the Stephen Groombridge observations.

Reference number: HS/1/123

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding a letter from F. W. Bessel. On holiday on the Isle of Wight.

Reference number: HS/1/124

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding a meeting of the new 'Standard' committee.

Reference number: HS/1/125

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the measurement of angles. Observations on a problem set by John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/1/126

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding a telescope for Thomas Maclear.

Reference number: HS/1/127

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the storage of the Standard weights and measures.

Reference number: HS/1/128

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requires information on an actinometer.

Reference number: HS/1/129

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses copy of a paper for John Frederick William Herschel's comments. ReGeorge Biddell Airyrding reviews of George Biddell Airy's paper on 'Tides.'

Reference number: HS/1/130

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding glass for the telescope for the Cape Town Observatory?

Reference number: HS/1/131

Draft letter. Regarding custody of the Standards.

Reference number: HS/1/333

Contemporary copy in sender's hand, signed by sender. Has received a request from the Admiralty to order a new telescope for the Cape observatory; at the same time, John Frederick William Herschel has received an unsolicited offer of a lens. John Frederick William Herschel seeks advice and information from George Biddell Airy.

Reference number: HS/25/6/17

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Regarding custody of the Standards.

Reference number: HS/25/13/12

1844

Birth of Matilda Rose Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1844

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding electrometers and their efficiency.

Reference number: HS/1/132

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further regarding glass for telescope. Postscript relating experiments with electricity.

Reference number: HS/1/133

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has John Frederick William Herschel received Thomas Maclear's observations on Encke's comet?

Reference number: HS/1/134

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Cape Town telescopes. Has written to Thomas Maclear for observations on Encke's comet.

Reference number: HS/1/135

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's forthcoming visit to the Greenwich Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/136

Draft letter. Regarding object glasses for telescopes. Relative merits of Munich and French object glasses.

Reference number: HS/1/137

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further observations on object glasses.

Reference number: HS/1/138

Copy of letter, in unknown hand. Does not believe that a magnetic congress held at this time would be productive or representative; a better job could be done by letter.

Reference number: HS/1/139

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informing John Frederick William Herschel that he certainly wrote to him from Limerick.

Reference number: HS/1/140

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding F. W. Bessel's letter on the irregularity of proper motion in stars. Is it worth printing Nevil Maskelyne's observations on star places?

Reference number: HS/1/141

Autograph letter signed by sender. Hopes John Frederick William Herschel will write a memoir of Francis Baily.

Reference number: HS/1/142

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding object planes for the telescope.

Reference number: HS/1/143

Autograph letter signed by sender. Giving abridged history of the establishment of the new Board of Visitors to the Royal Observatory. Details concerning the Nautical Almanac. Standards commission.

Reference number: HS/1/144

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regrets his delay in not returning F. W. Bessel's letter. Observations arising from this letter.

Reference number: HS/1/145

Draft letter. Whether a repulsive force from the sun affects the tails of comets and thus the constancy of their orbits.

Reference number: HS/22/196

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Regarding object glasses for telescopes. Relative merits of Munich and French object glasses.

Reference number: HS/22/199

1845

Sir John Herschel serves as President of the British Association

1845

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding magnetic establishments and observations.

Reference number: HS/1/146

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants information on dispersion/separation of light in plate or crown glass.

Reference number: HS/1/147

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking him to read George Biddell Airy's medal-speech.

Reference number: HS/1/148

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is enclosing two transcripts of letters from William Simms relating to the object-glass. a. Hopes to give account next week. b. One glass good, other has failed.

Reference number: HS/1/149

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the acceleration of retention of a shrinking sphere.

Reference number: HS/1/150

Autograph letter signed by sender. Passes on information received from Thomas Maclear regarding stars. Has tried to use William Simm's object-glass.

Reference number: HS/1/151

Autograph letter signed by sender. Giving the plan of the Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/152

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses transcript of letter dealing with object-glasses. Has given notice that he has withdrawn from the Physical Committee of the Royal Society [of London]

Reference number: HS/1/153

Autograph letter signed by sender. Hopes John Frederick William Herschel will be staying with him. Would like statement from John Frederick William Herschel regarding the Magnetic Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/154

Autograph letter signed by sender. Giving notice of a meeting of the Standards Commission.

Reference number: HS/1/155

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asking him to arrange distribution of the Royal Astronomical Society catalogues as he is too busy. When is John Frederick William Herschel going to try William Simm's object planes?

Reference number: HS/1/156

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requesting John Frederick William Herschel to jog Sir Robert [Peel's?] memory.

Reference number: HS/1/157

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanking John Frederick William Herschel for his letter on double star orbits. Observations on angles of position of Gamma Virginis.

Reference number: HS/1/158

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending letters by W. R. Dawes and F. W. Bessel, the latter occasioned by a volume of 'Planetary reductions' presented to him by George Biddell Airy.

Reference number: HS/1/159

Autograph letter signed by sender. Mrs. Airy has given birth to a son.

Reference number: HS/1/160

Autograph letter signed by sender. Introducing B. A. Gould, who wishes to study observatories and astronomy in Europe. George Biddell Airy doubts whether he will be able to attend the meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society

Reference number: HS/1/161

Autograph letter signed by sender. Passing on information received from a O. M. Mitchel[l] of Cincinnati regarding Antares, and the surface of the sun.

Reference number: HS/1/162

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding estimates and payment for a parallectical mounting.

Reference number: HS/1/163

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the condition for determining the best possible orbit for a double star.

Reference number: HS/1/164

Draft letter. Regarding measure of Virginis.

Reference number: HS/1/332

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Believes George Biddell Airy's measurements [see George Biddell Airy's 1845-10-1] seriously in error, and strenuously defends John Frederick William Herschel's method.

Reference number: HS/25/13/6

1846

Birth of Francisca Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1846

Sir John Herschel serves his second term as Foreign Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society

1846: To 1847

Autograph letter signed by sender. Letter of introduction for Professor [J.?] Hoffer of Vienna.

Reference number: HS/1/165

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the printing of John Frederick William Herschel's countings field-falls of stars.

Reference number: HS/1/166

Draft in John Herschel's hand. Has still not received F. W. Bessel's original letter [see George Biddell Airy's 1844-11-16].

Reference number: HS/1/167

Autograph letter signed by sender. Just returned from nine weeks on the continent. Met Miss Caroline Herschel, who mentioned a catalogue of John Flamsteed's stars to which she had attached some notes.

Reference number: HS/1/168

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is thinking of writing an account of the new planet.

Reference number: HS/1/169

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the slow motion screw in declination.

Reference number: HS/1/170

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding his paper about the new planet. Attacks by article in the Athenaeum.

Reference number: HS/1/171

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding F. W. Bessel's table for the Huygenian satellite. On early chronology.

Reference number: HS/1/172

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Johann Lamont's numbers.

Reference number: HS/1/173

Autograph letter signed by sender. Lists the contents of a parcel being sent.

Reference number: HS/1/174

Autograph letter signed by sender. Domestic news. Further regarding telescopes and slow motion in declination.

Reference number: HS/1/175

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Has still not received F. W. Bessel's original letter [see George Biddell Airy's 1844-11-16].

Reference number: HS/22/277

1847

Sir John Herschel serves his second term as President of the Royal Astronomical Society

1847: Until 1849

Sir John Herschel receives the Copley Medal

1847: Sir John Herschel receives the Copley Medal of the Royal Society "For his work entitled Results of Astronomical Observations made during the years 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837 and 1838, at the Cape of Good Hope; being a completion of a telescopic survey of the whole surface of the visible heavens, commenced in 1825"

Sir John Herschel publishes a paper

1847: Sir John Herschel publishes Results of astronomical observations made during the years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, at the Cape of Good Hope; being a completion of a telescopic survey of the whole surface of the visible heavens, commenced in 1825.

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends extracts of a letter from H. C. Schumacher. Does not agree with Schumacher regarding F. W. Bessel's 'specific attraction.'

Reference number: HS/1/176

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding W. S. Stratford and the printing of the catalogues. F. W. Bessel's star corrections.

Reference number: HS/1/177

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants a copy of his Cape Results for his assistant. Would he continue to observe the duration of annularity in the coming eclipse?

Reference number: HS/1/183

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding a letter from the Newcastle Philosophical Society.

Reference number: HS/1/184

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning the method of observation by direct and reflected vision.

Reference number: HS/1/185

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding H. C. Schumacher and the intended distribution of J. J. F. Lalande's catalogue.

Reference number: HS/1/186

Copy autographed or initialed by sender. Proposes that the Royal Astronomical Society award medals regarding the discovery of Neptune to both U. J. J. Leverrier and J. C. Adams, giving first honors to Leverrier, and specifying distinctly the grounds for awarding the second. Hopes his resolution will not be seen as blaming anyone and that it will have a 'healing and a friendly effect.'

Reference number: HS/16/61

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Proposes that the Royal Astronomical Society award medals regarding the discovery of Neptune to both U. J. J. Leverrier and J. C. Adams, giving first honors to Leverrier, and specifying distinctly the grounds for awarding the second. Hopes his resolution will not be seen as blaming anyone and that it will have a 'healing and a friendly effect.'

Reference number: HS/25/9/37

1848

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is formed, by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rosetti and others

1848

Napoleon III is elected first President of France

20 December 1848

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the proposed eight-inch object glass. Supplementary estimate for the Admiralty. Extract of a letter from Otto Struve.

Reference number: HS/1/195

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding modifications for the actinometer. Has written to Georg Merz regarding the object-glass. Regarding the eight-inch object-glass. Name of the maker of his actinometer. [John Frederick William Herschel has written a rough draft of his reply to this letter on the same sheet.]

Reference number: HS/1/196

Autograph letter signed by sender. Georg Merz's practice regarding the sale of object-glasses. Is preparing a model of a transit circle.

Reference number: HS/1/197

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning object-glasses.

Reference number: HS/1/198

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning the new meridional instrument. Is John Frederick William Herschel coming to town soon?

Reference number: HS/1/199

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the reinstatement of the zenith tube.

Reference number: HS/1/200

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further information on the zenith tube. Description of a zenith tube.

Reference number: HS/1/201

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Mary Somerville's proposals for extraordinary terrestrial refractions?Admiralty Manual.

Reference number: HS/1/202

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel for his opinion of F. W. A. Argelander's letter concerning the publication of his work by the Royal Astronomical Society

Reference number: HS/1/204

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has received further proof sheets of the perturbations from the printer. Regarding Isaac Newton's theory of the motion of the moon's apse.

Reference number: HS/1/208

Draft letter. Regarding Isaac Newton's theory of the motion of the moon's apse. Concerning the reliability of J. H. Seyfforth's theories. Status of the Ipswich Philosophical Society.

Reference number: HS/1/208a

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further reGeorge Biddell Airyrding George Biddell Airy's defense of Isaac Newton's theory on the moon. J. H. Seyfforth's theories seem plausible. Ipswich Philosophical Society.

Reference number: HS/1/209

Autograph letter signed by sender. Observations on John Frederick William Herschel's chapters [of Admiralty Manual?] received from the printers.

Reference number: HS/1/214

Draft letter, incomplete. John Frederick William Herschel comments on quality of Georg Merz object glasses.

Reference number: HS/23/12

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Regarding Isaac Newton's theory of the motion of the moon's apse. Concerning the reliability of J. H. Seyfforth's theories. Status of the Ipswich Philosophical Society.

Reference number: HS/23/43

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Further regarding his dispute with Isaac Newton's theory on the moon.

Reference number: HS/23/44

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Regarding the moon's orbit.

Reference number: HS/23/45

1849

Sir John Herschel publishes Outlines of Astronomy.

1849

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the 'chilled' casting of a telescope.

Reference number: HS/1/215

Autograph letter signed by sender. Returning papers of Yvon Villarceau and an abstract of them, together with comments on them.

Reference number: HS/1/216

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informing John Frederick William Herschel that they have been appointed members of a committee for proving a three foot reflector for the Cape Town Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/217

Draft in John Herschel's hand. Has heard nothing beyond what George Biddell Airy has said [see George Biddell Airy's 1849-9-25], but agrees with George Biddell Airy's assessment of the situation.

Reference number: HS/1/218

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Has heard nothing beyond what George Biddell Airy has said [see George Biddell Airy's 1849-9-25], but agrees with George Biddell Airy's assessment of the situation.

Reference number: HS/23/74

1850

Sir John Herschel is appointed Master of the Mint

1850

Autograph letter signed by sender. Committee set up by the B.A.A.S. to consider methods of observing the forthcoming eclipse of the sun; observations on this.

Reference number: HS/1/219

1851

Sir John Herschel serves as juror of the Great Exhibition

1851

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning George Biddell Airy's eclipse lecture and [G.] Seyffarth's claims reGeorge Biddell Airyrding eclipse observations.

Reference number: HS/1/224

Draft letter. Comments on accidental burns to John Frederick William Herschel's daughter Amelia.

Reference number: HS/23/129

1854

Autograph letter signed by sender. Results of observation of transits at Greenwich and Paris.

Reference number: HS/1/225

1855

Birth of Constance Anne Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1855

Sir John Herschel is elected Foreign Associate of the Institut de France

1855

Sir John Herschel resigns from his position as Master of the Mint

1855

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants one or more of John Frederick William Herschel's actinometers. Notes his suggestion about the zenith tube.

Reference number: HS/1/229

Autographed letter, incomplete. Regarding experiments on the Mohamet's coffin theory. His son Wilfrid has won a scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/1/330

Draft letter. [Reply to George Biddell Airy's [1856-4-6 or earlier] on Mohamet's coffin theory.] Congratulations on George Biddell Airy's son winning a scholarship. John Frederick William Herschel's health is better, but he cannot walk yet.

Reference number: HS/1/331

1857

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding orbits of comets. Lunar elements John Frederick William Herschel requires are given in P. A. Hansen's tables.

Reference number: HS/1/235

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses copy of a letter addressed to George Biddell Airy from Toronto University (dated 30 October 1858 and stating that the Toronto Observatory has not been closed in spite of what the Royal Society [of London] and B.A.A.S. joint committee have stated). Difficulties because of Edward Sabine's illness.

Reference number: HS/1/238

Draft letter. Giving reply for George Biddell Airy to send to Toronto. Is grieved to hear of Edward Sabine's illness.

Reference number: HS/1/239

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Giving reply for George Biddell Airy to send to Toronto. Is grieved to hear of Edward Sabine's illness.

Reference number: HS/23/248

Regarding the value of the Society's proposed magnetic establishment [near Vancouver Island], the state of light instruments, as well as the expense of publishing abstracts of observations.

Reference number: MC/5/380

1859

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants information for the proposed visit to Auvergne. Regarding the motion of the sun.

Reference number: HS/1/240

Autograph letter signed by sender. Relating to his holiday experience in France.

Reference number: HS/1/241

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the geographical position of places in France. Comments on John Frederick William Herschel's paper on light and colors.

Reference number: HS/1/242

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses a paper and gives his comments on it.

Reference number: HS/1/243

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding telescopes in various places.

Reference number: HS/1/244

1860

Sir John Herschel publishes in the Proceedings of the Royal Society

1860: Sir John Herschel publishes some “Remarks on colour-blindness" extracted from a referee report on Pole’s paper on the same subject.

Autograph letter signed by sender. Passes on information on stars received from a Bengal pilot.

Reference number: HS/1/245

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the printing of John Frederick William Herschel's British Metrical scale. Comparison between the chimes of Big Ben and those of St. Mary's, Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/1/246

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further details on the chimes of Big Ben.

Reference number: HS/1/247

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanking him for his paper on telescopes. Observations of John Frederick William Herschel's semicircular map of the world.

Reference number: HS/1/248

1861

Death of Margaret Louisa Marshall, née Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart

1861

William Morris established the decorative design firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company (later Morris & Company)

1861

Charles Dickens publishes Great Expectations as a three-volume book

1861

Sir John Herschel publishes Physical Geography as part of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

1861

Abraham Lincoln begins his term as President of the United States

4 March 1861

Autograph letter signed by sender. Offering sympathy on the death of John Frederick William Herschel's daughter [Margaret Louisa].

Reference number: HS/1/249

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending a tract on 'Probable Errors.' Further observations on John Frederick William Herschel's article on telescopes.

Reference number: HS/1/250

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks for his comments on the results of his Magnetic Register 1848-1857.

Reference number: HS/1/251

Draft letter in John Herschel's hand. Asks George Biddell Airy many questions about his magnetical explanation [see GA's 1861-4-22].

Reference number: HS/1/252

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further remarks concerning his Magnetic Registers [see George Biddell Airy's 1861-4-22].

Reference number: HS/1/253

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the evaporation of water as a source of electricity. Magnetic results in relation to the North Atlantic.

Reference number: HS/1/254

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses printed copies of letters received from Johann Lamont regarding apparatus for examining Galvanic currents in the earth; would like his comments on them. Gave lecture in Manchester on the eclipse.

Reference number: HS/1/255

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Asks George Biddell Airy many questions about his magnetical explanation [see George Biddell Airy's 1861-4-22].

Reference number: HS/23/329

1862

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has received notice from the Foreign Office that the Russian Government has sanctioned the establishment of a magnetic and meteorological observatory at Pekin.

Reference number: HS/1/256

1863

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning Thomas Maclear.

Reference number: HS/1/257

Autograph letter signed by sender. Giving results (including diagram) of a comparison of earth currents and magnetometer disturbances.

Reference number: HS/1/258

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding William Lassell's nebulae drawings in the Royal Astronomical Society's Memoirs. House of Commons action concerning 'Weights and Measures.'

Reference number: HS/1/259

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has climbed Ben Nevis.

Reference number: HS/1/260

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning the 'Standards.'

Reference number: HS/1/261

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding A. R. Clarke's paper on Geodesy. Benjamin Peirce's Lunar Table. The sun's parallax. John Frederick William Herschel's nebulae catalogue. Regarding the English inch.

Reference number: HS/1/262

Autograph letter signed by sender. ReGeorge Biddell Airyrding employment for George Biddell Airy's son in the Educational Departments in India.

Reference number: HS/1/263

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the Proceedings of the Southern Telescope Committee.

Reference number: HS/1/264

Autograph letter signed by sender. Requesting John Frederick William Herschel to write to Thomas Maclear to get him to finish his work on the Trigonometrical Survey of the Cape.

Reference number: HS/1/265

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is returning correspondence on Southern Telescope Committee and the Melbourne telescope. Comments on the working of the scheme.

Reference number: HS/1/266

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the work of Thomas Maclear.

Reference number: HS/1/267

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's remarks about colored fringes in the clouds.

Reference number: HS/1/268

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanking him for his statement about solar motion.

Reference number: HS/1/269

Copy of a letter. Comments on the possibility of employment in India for George Biddell Airy's son, Hubert.

Reference number: HS/24/20

1864

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Thomas Spring-Rice (1st Baron Monteagle), the Treasury and the Commission on Weights and Measures.

Reference number: HS/1/270

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further regarding the forthcoming meeting of the Standards Commission. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's 'Catalogue of Nebulae.'

Reference number: HS/1/271

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's forthcoming visit. On the platinum in the pound weight becoming browned.

Reference number: HS/1/272

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is returning the Proceedings of the Manchester Society, and The Magnetical and Meteorological Observations for 1851-58. Regarding the registration of magnetical disturbances.

Reference number: HS/1/282

Autograph letter signed by sender. Concerning John Frederick William Herschel's memorial to W. R. Hamilton's daughter. Holiday in Keswick. Comments on John Frederick William Herschel's papers on optics and force.

Reference number: HS/1/283

Draft letter in John Herschel's hand. Is working on a problem in polarized light, and finds his result disagreeing with F. J. D. Arago's third law; leads John Frederick William Herschel to think light cannot be undulatory in nature.

Reference number: HS/1/284

Autograph letter signed by sender. Writes about a long standing, very old, member of the Royal Observatory's Board of Visitors [W. H. Smyth] having been summarily dismissed from the Board.

Reference number: HS/1/285

Autograph letter signed by sender. Explaining John Frederick William Herschel's polarization difficulty [see John Frederick William Herschel's 1865-10-16].

Reference number: HS/1/286

Signed document. Printed address of the Astronomer Royal to individual members of the Board of Visitors of the Royal Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/287

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further regarding polarized light and its interferences.

Reference number: HS/1/288

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding I. K. Brunel's bridges and John Frederick William Herschel's letter on suspension roofs. Effects of a thunderstorm on a water barometer.

Reference number: HS/1/289

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Is working on a problem in polarized light, and finds his result disagreeing with F. J. D. Arago's third law; leads John Frederick William Herschel to think light cannot be undulatory in nature.

Reference number: HS/24/124

1866

Sir John Herschel publishes his translation of Homer’s Iliad

1866

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has sent the 1854 Greenwich Magnetical and Meteorological Observations. Illness of the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (William Whewell). Undulating theory of stars in motion.

Reference number: HS/1/290

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further regarding the possible introduction of the metrical system for weights and measures.

Reference number: HS/1/291

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the measurement of the heat and light of the sun by means of the movements of a comet.

Reference number: HS/1/292

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's remarks on Robert Willis. Comments on the usefulness of W. H. Miller of Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/1/293

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the documents for the Standards Commission.

Reference number: HS/1/294

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending a packet of seven papers on metrical and decimal systems.

Reference number: HS/1/295

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the visit by E. A. S. Seymour (12th Duke of Somerset) to the Board of Visitors.

Reference number: HS/1/296

Autograph letter signed by sender. New date for proposed meeting on the Charles [=K. L. C.] Rmker business.

Reference number: HS/1/297

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding visitation card for the Royal Observatory for John Frederick William Herschel's son John.

Reference number: HS/1/298

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants a paper for the Royal Astronomical Society on the Corona star [T Coronae].

Reference number: HS/1/299

Autograph letter signed by sender. Fixing a new time for the meeting to discuss Charles Rmker.

Reference number: HS/1/300

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is glad John Frederick William Herschel is going to assist with the Standards. Outlines his scheme for the Standards.

Reference number: HS/1/301

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants John Frederick William Herschel's opinion on the question of maintaining observatories at Bombay and Madras.

Reference number: HS/1/302

Autograph letter signed by sender. Would like account of shooting stars by John Frederick William Herschel's son [Alexander]. Gives his observations on the properties of shooting stars.

Reference number: HS/1/303

1867

Sir John Herschel publishes Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects

1867

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanking him for lecture papers. Has sent his paper on partial differential equations.

Reference number: HS/1/304

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding earth currents and galvanic registers. Results of recent experiments on these.

Reference number: HS/1/305

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanking him for his paper on Indian Standards and systems of measurement.

Reference number: HS/1/306

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the theory of magnetic currents.

Reference number: HS/1/307

1868

Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister

1 February 1868

William Gladstone becomes Prime Minister

1 December 1868

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further regarding his theories on sound.

Reference number: HS/1/308

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has received the bill of William Ewart concerning the metrical scale.

Reference number: HS/1/309

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending William Pole's protest against the system of equal temperament in music [abstract of protest given].

Reference number: HS/1/310

Autograph letter signed by sender. Stating that the Board of Visitors could not afford to lose the services of John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/1/311

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further regarding the theory of sound.

Reference number: HS/1/312

Copy of a letter. Thanks for gift sent to John Frederick William Herschel's daughter Amelia; comments on William Petrie's number mysticism with the Great Pyramid.

Reference number: HS/24/217

1869

Jules Verne serializes Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea

1869: (Vingt Mille Lieues sous les Mers)

Autograph letter signed by sender. Gives information on the rotational periods of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn [see John Frederick William Herschel's 1869-5-30].

Reference number: HS/1/316

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding John Frederick William Herschel's letter to the Times on the gold coinage question.

Reference number: HS/1/317

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Has read the syllabus of George Biddell Airy's lectures on magnetism; it reminds John Frederick William Herschel of his attempt to solve the problem of 'Mahomet's coffin', which John Frederick William Herschel still believes would work.

Reference number: HS/24/256

1870

Copy of a letter. Has John Frederick William Herschel seen R. A. Proctor's theory regarding the Milky Way?

Reference number: HS/1/318

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has he heard about the resignations of the Assistants at the Paris Observatory? Further regarding the present situation at the Paris Observatory.

Reference number: HS/1/319

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending extract of a letter [included] received from R. L. J. Ellery, Melbourne[deals with observations of Eta Argus].

Reference number: HS/1/320

A letter [see HS/1/320] received from R L J Ellery, Melbourne [deals with observations of Eta Argus].

Reference number: HS/1/321

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding Alexander Herschel's paper on acoustical oscillations recently sent to G. A. Erman.

Reference number: HS/1/322

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding George Biddell Airy's proposed visit to Hawkhurst. Is losing the services of his first assistant. Book on magnetism almost printed. Is revising his article on sound. Is trying out a water telescope.

Reference number: HS/1/323

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending G. G. Stokes's instructions about polarization. Observation parties are off to Oran, Gibraltar and Cadiz.

Reference number: HS/1/324

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is sending two copies of his book on magnetism [Treatise on Magnetism (London, 1870)].

Reference number: HS/1/325

Draft letter. Thanking him for copies of books. People at Collingwood are gazing at the eclipse. Concerning the astatic needle.

Reference number: HS/1/326

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Thanking him for copies of books. People at Collingwood are gazing at the eclipse. Concerning the astatic needle.

Reference number: HS/24/342

1871

Death of Sir John Herschel, at Collingwood, Kent

11 May 1871

Sir John Herschel is buried at Westminster Abbey

19 May 1871

Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding a reflector for observation of the forthcoming eclipse.

Reference number: HS/1/327