Correspondence map
Interact with the map by zooming, clicking hotspots, and selecting items to see more details. Hit play on the timeline to show correspondence over time.
Henry Kater
John Frederick William Herschel
John Frederick William Herschel and Charles Babbage travel through France to Italy and Switzerland.
1821
John Frederick William Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
1821:
John Frederick William Herschel publishes “On the aberrations of compound lenses and object-glasses" in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
John Frederick William Herschel receives the Copley Medal of the Royal Society for his papers printed in the Philosophical Transactions
1821
Autograph letter signed by sender, damaged. Collecting English observations of eclipse of 7 Sept. 1820 for H. J. Walbeck. Construction of object glasses.
16 January 1821 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/14
Autograph letter signed by sender. Delivered Royal Society [of London] resolution on 'Junction of French and English triangles' to François Arago. Arago alone will meet Henry Kater and T. F. Colby to finish triangles this summer. J. B. Biot will collaborate next year with Henry Kater on pendulum measurements.
5 August 1821 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/15
Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends set of William Herschel's duplicated papers. Curious results 'examining the rings,' but bad weather has hampered experiments. Correction of spherical aberration. John Frederick William Herschel is using J. d'Alembert's Opuscules. Image of Alpha Lyrae.
1821 to 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/17
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Collecting English observations of eclipse of 7 Sept. 1820 for H. J. Walbeck. Construction of object glasses.
16 January 1821 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/109
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Delivered Royal Society [of London] resolution on 'Junction of French and English triangles' to François Arago. Arago alone will meet Henry Kater and T. F. Colby to finish triangles this summer. J. B. Biot will collaborate next year with Henry Kater on pendulum measurements.
5 August 1821 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/123
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Sends set of William Herschel's duplicated papers. Curious results 'examining the rings,' but bad weather has hampered experiments. Correction of spherical aberration. John Frederick William Herschel is using J. d'Alembert's Opuscules. Image of Alpha Lyrae.
1821 to 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/25/13/21
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Accidentally found some verses on a scrap of paper, and wondered if it would fit the music of Cherry Ripe; sends verses to Mary Frances Kater.
1821 to 1828 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/25/13/22
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Asks Mary Frances Kater's permission to allow a close friend to make use of the words once sent to her by John Frederick William Herschel as suitable for the music of Cherry Ripe.
1821 to 1828 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/25/13/23
1822
Death of Sir William Herschel FRS
25 August 1822
Autograph letter signed by sender. The Miss Edgeworths will prolong their visit until Friday in order to visit Slough. George Dollond has sent the radii of the crown lens. Will John Frederick William Herschel breakfast with the Katers on Friday?
1 June 1822 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/7
Autograph letter signed by sender. The Miss Edgeworths have changed their plans again in order to visit Portsmouth, but will arrive at Slough on Sunday morning. Hopes the Herschels can still breakfast with the Katers on Friday.
3 June 1822 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/8
Autograph letter signed by sender. Encloses John Frederick William Herschel's translation of J. J. Littrow's method of determining latitude by pole star. It already appeared in F. X. Zach's Correspondance astronomique.... Send Francis Beaufort's survey of Karamania coast.
1822-3-28 or later Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/16
Autograph letter signed by sender. Leaving town for a week. Will read [Francis Beaufort's] book after return. Delighted by 'two instances of good fortune' in one week at Union Place [Henry Kater's home].
18 May 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/18
Autograph letter signed by sender. Examine reflecting theodolite by [?] Schenk, now at Edward Troughton's. Arrangements for Madeira expedition. James South is willing to make observations there. 'Bowdich (the African)' is now at Teneriffe or Madeira and needs employment. William Herschel's health.
28 June 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/20
Copy of a letter. Encloses table of star declinations for 1815 and 1820, received from F. W. Bessel, who used different meridian circles for each year.
2 August 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/25
Copy of a letter. Lady Mary Herschel feels great sorrow, but her health is fair. Caroline Herschel is distracted by her return to Hanover. Hopes present extraordinary season will favor Henry Kater's observations. News from [Maria] Edgeworth.
1822-9? Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/43
Copy of a letter. Sends the formula for finding the maximum diameter of the planets.
15 March 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/136
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Remarks he is not usually lucky, but has had two instances of 'good fortune' in one week at Union Place.
18 May 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/140
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Examine reflecting theodolite by [?] Schenk, now at Edward Troughton's. Arrangements for Madeira expedition. James South is willing to make observations there. 'Bowdich (the African)' is now at Teneriffe or Madeira and needs employment. William Herschel's health.
28 June 1822 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/146
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Encloses John Frederick William Herschel's translation of J. J. Littrow's method of determining latitude by pole star. It already appeared in F. X. Zach's Correspondance astronomique.... Send Francis Beaufort's survey of Karamania coast.
1822-3-28 or later Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/25/13/19
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Unable to be at Katers' home for dinner, but will arrive later. John Frederick William Herschel is pleased to find Henry Kater's and John Frederick William Herschel's measurements of Mars agree with those of John Frederick William Herschel's father, William, and compares these with some other measures.
1822 to 1829 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/25/13/20
1823
John Frederick William Herschel receives the Bakerian Medal of the Royal Society.
1823:
John Frederick William Herschel gives the Bakerian lecture “On certain Motions produced in Fluid Conductors when transmitting the Electric Current”.
Autograph letter signed by sender. 'Our micrometer screws' are not in error. F. G. W. Struve's star measurements using Josef Fraunhofer's repeating micrometer agree well with John Frederick William Herschel's. So error must be in Henry Kater's observations.
31 July 1823 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/51
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. 'Our micrometer screws' are not in error. F. G. W. Struve's star measurements using Josef Fraunhofer's repeating micrometer agree well with John Frederick William Herschel's. So error must be in Henry Kater's observations.
31 July 1823 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/165
1824
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
1825
John Frederick William Herschel invents the actinometer to measure the heating power of the Sun’s rays
1825
Autograph letter signed by sender. Thomas Young approved supplying [Richard] Copeland with two sextants and one mountain barometer.
16? November 1825 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/50
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. Has been waiting for a letter from Basil Hall regarding the availability of his pendulums, but has heard nothing. Surprised at the error in William Lambton's calculations. What does he think of the method of finding the figure of the earth by measuring the parallax of the moon? Is writing in bed. Has been polishing a mirror for T. J. Hussey.
25 March 1826 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/9
Autograph letter signed by sender. Invites Henry Kater to dinner Saturday to meet James South and Alexis Bouvard.
6 May 1826 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/52
Copy of a letter. Asks for the use of an invariable pendulum and a clock from the Board of Longitude so that G. B. Airy and William Whewell can carry out experiments to measure the change in gravity and the mean density of the earth, in a Yorkshire coal m
21 March 1826 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/231
1827
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce presents his photographs in England for the first time
1827
Autograph letter signed by sender. Informs Henry Kater that John Frederick William Herschel intends to resign as secretary of the Royal Society [of London]
27 June 1827 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/26/62
1828
Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends Knowles's paper for his comments. The Board of Longitude has now been officially dissolved. Hopes the Royal Society [of London] will not take on its work unless well paid by the government. Answers to John Frederick William Herschel's queries regarding the Nautical Almanac and other works of the Board of Longitude. Present time not good for state recognition of science.
18 July 1828 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/10
Copy of a letter. John Frederick William Herschel very upset at the government abolishing the Board of Longitude; has many questions as to what will happen now.
17 July 1828 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/19
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Comments on a paper about differential calculus, prepared by Mr. Knight, which John Frederick William Herschel confesses he does not understand. Adds some astronomical observations John Frederick William Herschel made at Slough before leaving there, and noting the appearance of J. F. Encke's Berlin Ephemeris concludes with 'England is fated to lag in the rear of all her neighbours—at least in science.'
1 August 1828 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/25
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Confusion around [James] Grahame's possible use of the verses that John Frederick William Herschel had offered to Mary Frances Kater as suitable for the music Cherry Ripe.
20? March 1828 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/25/13/24
1829
John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart are married in London
3 March 1829
Autograph letter signed by sender. Has been searching for the regulations regarding the Military College. William Fitton and Henry Kater have proposed Eilhard Mitscherlich for the Royal Medal and John Frederick William Herschel is to be asked to prepare a statement. Is pleased J. J. Littrow has adopted the collimator. Has heard of their visit to Gadesburgh. Still at the Royal Society [of London] though he really wished to resign. Michael Faraday was voted the Copley Medal for his glass experiments.
21 November 1829 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/11
Copy of a letter. About the use of the collimator, together with some family news.
19 November 1829 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/50
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. Has been confined to bed with pleurisy. Davies Gilbert called yesterday and gave startling news of the wonders of James South's new telescope. Can John Frederick William Herschel inform him of its true capabilities? Gilbert talks of having an object glass of 2 diameter made of Michael Faraday's glass."
15 February 1830 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/12
Autographed letter, incomplete. Has had a letter from Wilhelm Struve regarding the Standard. Could Henry Kater bring it to the notice of the Royal Society [of London], and advise John Frederick William Herschel?
30 March 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/11/13
Autographed letter, incomplete. Has never seen the fair copy of William Herschel's polishing book. Will be pleased to assist Wilhelm Struve regarding the Standards. Will ask George Everest to call on him and discuss the Indian operations. How did Herschel perfect the adjustment of his object glass? Has been experimenting with the Josef Fraunhofer spots.
31 March 1830 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/14
Autograph letter signed by sender. Does he want a scale ordered form George Dollond for Wilhelm Struve? Will not be in London when Struve arrives. Has written a paper on the Standards for the Royal Society [of London] and will send John Frederick William Herschel a copy when printed. Comments on the comparison of Standards.
8 June 1830 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/15
Autograph letter signed by sender. Laments indiscretion of Royal Society [of London] president [Davies Gilbert], attributing to John Frederick William Herschel statements John Frederick William Herschel never made about astronomical observations and James South's telescope. Clarifies what John Frederick William Herschel actually saw.
18 February 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/55
Autographed letter, damaged. Misplaced papers are now found. Henry Kater must be 'first authority' on scale constructed for Wilhelm Struve. John Frederick William Herschel improved telescope by separating eyepiece lenses. John Frederick William Herschel's new baby girl.
3 April 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/58
Autograph letter signed by sender. F. G. W. Struve will arrive in July. Before Henry Kater and wife leave for Continent next week, please leave directions how Struve may obtain Struve's scale.
6 June 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/59
Autograph letter signed by sender. Arrangements for Royal Society [of London] annual banquet. Lord High Admiral may attend.
1830 to 1833-5-31 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/76
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Noted "copied from draft, checked original" in red by the copyist. Laments indiscretion of Royal Society [of London] president [Davies Gilbert], attributing to John Frederick William Herschel statements John Frederick William Herschel never made about astronomical observations and James South's telescope. Clarifies what John Frederick William Herschel actually saw.
18 February 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/59
Copy of incomplete letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Has had a letter from Wilhelm Struve regarding the Standard. Could Henry Kater bring it to the notice of the Royal Society [of London], and advise John Frederick William Herschel?
30 March 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/64
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Misplaced papers are now found. Henry Kater must be 'first authority' on scale constructed for Wilhelm Struve. John Frederick William Herschel improved telescope by separating eyepiece lenses. John Frederick William Herschel's new baby girl.
3 April 1830 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/67
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. Sends details of the measurement of Wilhelm Struve's standard. Is pleased that John Frederick William Herschel has given an invitation to [E. de?] Beaumont, who is anxious to become an astronomer and is about to spend £1,200 on instruments. Wishes that John Frederick William Herschel appeared in town more often.
12 May 1831 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/16
1832
Autograph letter signed by sender. Has been prevented from answering his letter earlier by increased illness. If he returns to town he will have pleasure in meeting H. C. Schumacher. Believes the pound must be made of bell metal. Thought John Frederick William Herschel was on his way to the Cape, but sees his letter was written from Slough.
4 August 1832 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/17
Autograph letter signed by sender. Obliged for the present of his papers. Will keep them until the catalogue arrives. The improvements in his 20' telescope are interesting; comments on this. Will obtain the troy pound as soon as Parliament meets.
22 November 1832 Sender: Henry Kater Reference number: HS/11/18
Copy of a letter. About the need to have the standard pound carefully measured so it can be compared with other standards of weight.
16 July 1832 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/21/113
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. Shocked to read in paper of Henry Kater's loss. Offers condolences.
23 February 1833 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/19/69