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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Correspondence Explorer

Choose two people to view all letters between them.

Showing 223 letters from 1810–1868

202 letters from James Grahame; 21 letters from John Frederick William Herschel

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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.

Autograph letter signed by sender. Recalls time spent together; asks John Frederick William Herschel for information about Cambridge colleges, especially St. John's.

Reference number: HS/8/233

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is attending John Playfair's lectures in mathematics; talks of plans to come to Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/8/234
1811

Autograph letter signed by sender. News of several lady friends and James Grahame's progress in law studies.

Reference number: HS/8/235

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks about nature of Classics examination James Grahame must take to be considered for admission to Cambridge.

Reference number: HS/8/236

Autograph letter signed by sender. Apologizes for long delay in writing; is coming to Cambridge in October.

Reference number: HS/8/237

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is coming to Cambridge on 10 Oct.

Reference number: HS/8/238
1812

Charles Babbage, John Frederick William Herschel and George Peacock found the Analytical Society

3 March 1812

John Frederick William Herschel presents his first scientific paper

12 November 1812:

John Frederick William Herschel communicates a paper on Cote’s theorem to the Royal Society

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has been quite ill; talks about one journey.

Reference number: HS/8/239

Autograph letter signed by sender. Talks about John Frederick William Herschel becoming a churchman.

Reference number: HS/8/240

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is coming to visit John Frederick William Herschel at Slough.

Reference number: HS/8/241

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's travels to Edinburgh.

Reference number: HS/8/242

Autograph letter signed by sender. Congratulates John Frederick William Herschel on having completed examinations; James Grahame will be admitted to the bar soon.

Reference number: HS/8/243

Autograph letter signed by sender. Note to accompany several copies of James Grahame's thesis.

Reference number: HS/8/244

Autographed letter, incomplete. Describes his experiences in court; talks about their mutual friend J. W. Whittaker [letter completed 1812-8-11].

Reference number: HS/8/245

Autograph letter signed by sender. Philosophizes about life [letter completed 1812-9-11].

Reference number: HS/8/246

Autograph letter signed by sender. About the lady James Grahame intends to marry; also James Grahame's law practice.

Reference number: HS/8/247
1813

John Frederick William Herschel graduates Senior Wrangler at St John’s College, Cambridge

1813

John Frederick William Herschel is elected Fellow of the Royal Society

27 May 1813

Autograph letter signed by sender. Congratulates John Frederick William Herschel on becoming Senior Wrangler.

Reference number: HS/8/248

Autograph letter signed by sender. Plans for coming to London.

Reference number: HS/8/249

Autograph letter signed by sender. Writes to John Frederick William Herschel to encourage him to come to London.

Reference number: HS/8/250

Autograph letter signed by sender. Writes of his journey back to Edinburgh, and of his intended wife.

Reference number: HS/8/251

Autograph letter signed by sender. Law business is good; James Grahame's intended desires to meet John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/252

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel if he would read and criticize a manuscript of James Grahame's.

Reference number: HS/8/253

Autograph letter signed by sender. Note to accompany James Grahame's manuscript [see James Grahame's 1813-6-21].

Reference number: HS/8/254

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanks for the criticism [see James Grahame's 1813-6-21]; is considering publication.

Reference number: HS/8/255

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has had manuscript [see James Grahame's 1813-7-14] privately printed with the title Crispin, only six copies and not for sale.

Reference number: HS/8/256

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encourages John Frederick William Herschel to get rid of his hatred of infants.

Reference number: HS/8/257

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encourages John Frederick William Herschel's decision to become a barrister; comments on the joys of marriage.

Reference number: HS/8/258

Autograph letter signed by sender. About the opportunities in law.

Reference number: HS/8/259
1814

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encourages John Frederick William Herschel to come to visit; more about the study of law.

Reference number: HS/8/260

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanks for essays John Frederick William Herschel sent; John Playfair was impressed by them. James Grahame is writing material in favor of a Glasgow/Edinburgh canal.

Reference number: HS/8/261

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame to be a father, has bought a new house, and urges John Frederick William Herschel to marry.

Reference number: HS/8/262

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news; encourages John Frederick William Herschel to read Jane Austen's novels.

Reference number: HS/8/263

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family and law business news.

Reference number: HS/8/264

Autograph letter signed by sender. Continues to encourage John Frederick William Herschel toward law and talks about some of James Grahame's cases.

Reference number: HS/8/265
1815

John Frederick William Herschel begins as sub-lector at St. John's College, Cambridge

1 May 1815

Autograph letter signed by sender. Upbraids John Frederick William Herschel for not writing, and announces the birth of his daughter, Anne.

Reference number: HS/8/266

Autograph letter signed by sender. Talks about the law, especially now that John Frederick William Herschel has begun his study of it.

Reference number: HS/8/267

Autograph letter signed by sender. Complains that James Grahame had to discover from strangers that John Frederick William Herschel was ill.

Reference number: HS/8/268

Autograph letter signed by sender. Distressed to hear John Frederick William Herschel is giving up law; family news.

Reference number: HS/8/269

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends best wishes on John Frederick William Herschel returning to St. John's to teach; about books James Grahame has read and some of his cases.

Reference number: HS/8/270
1816

John Frederick William Herschel is awarded Master of Arts (MA), at the University of Cambridge

30 January 1816

John Frederick William Herschel starts astronomical work alongside his father Sir William Herschel FRS

1816

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame's wife recovering from serious illness; James Grahame writing on population.

Reference number: HS/8/271

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news; agrees to forward any manuscript John Frederick William Herschel sends to John Playfair.

Reference number: HS/8/272

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news; is preparing his writings on population [see James Grahame's 1816-2-8] for publication.

Reference number: HS/8/273

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news and the law.

Reference number: HS/8/274

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame announces the death of his daughter Anne, and the publication of his book on population.

Reference number: HS/8/275
1817

Autograph letter signed by sender. Much philosophizing about life, work, and happiness.

Reference number: HS/8/276

Autograph letter signed by sender. The state of the country and friends, and please push James Grahame's book.

Reference number: HS/8/277

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's book on population and a pamphlet on the usury laws [letter completed 1817-2-26].

Reference number: HS/8/278

Autograph letter signed by sender. On James Grahame's ignorance of mathematics.

Reference number: HS/8/279

Autographed letter . Of poetry, usury laws, and the assizes [letter completed 1817-5-24].

Reference number: HS/8/280

Autograph letter signed by sender. Note to announce the second edition of James Grahame's pamphlet on the usury laws.

Reference number: HS/8/281

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news, and the sad state of current poetry.

Reference number: HS/8/282

Autograph letter signed by sender. On horse back riding, the law, and the birth of a daughter.

Reference number: HS/8/283

Autograph letter signed by sender. About friendship.

Reference number: HS/8/284

Copy of a letter. Discusses at some length the strengths and weaknesses of Lucan's Pharsalia. Mentions James Grahame's pamphlet on usury laws, suggesting that the argument from analogy is especially precarious in political economy.

Reference number: HS/20/52
1818

Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

1818

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame's wife is seriously ill.

Reference number: HS/8/286

Autograph letter signed by sender. Depressed over wife's serious illness.

Reference number: HS/8/287

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informs he has just attended the funeral of his wife, and will return to Scotland with his baby.

Reference number: HS/8/288

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame's wife died, and he has been sick in body and spirit.

Reference number: HS/8/289

Autograph letter signed by sender. About letter writing, and the joy James Grahame receives from his children.

Reference number: HS/8/290

Autograph letter signed by sender. Coming to terms with the death of his wife and with his new life [letter completed 1818-12-8].

Reference number: HS/8/291
1819

John Frederick William Herschel serves on the Board of Longitude

1819

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news and other matters [letter completed 1819-2-23].

Reference number: HS/8/292

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news and ramblings [letter completed 1819-5-23].

Reference number: HS/8/293

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of Charles Babbage's visit, family news, and lawsuits.

Reference number: HS/8/294

Copy of a letter, incomplete. Of Charles Babbage's trip to Scotland [letter continued 1819-10-8].

Reference number: HS/8/295

Autograph letter signed by sender. Chastises John Frederick William Herschel for misbehavior along with Charles Babbage, discusses the parlous state of the country's affairs, expresses interest in the history of astronomy, and sends family news [letter completed 1819-10-8].

Reference number: HS/8/296

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of Charles Babbage, family, public affairs, and law suits [letter completed 1819-11-15].

Reference number: HS/8/297
1820

John Frederick William Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

1820: John Frederick William Herschel publishes “On the action of crystallized bodies on homogeneous light, and on the causes of the deviation from Newton's scale in the tints which many of them develope on exposure to a polarised ray” .

John Frederick William Herschel serves his first term as Foreign Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society

1820

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of family, Walter Scott's novels, and affairs in Scotland and Spain.

Reference number: HS/8/298

Autograph letter signed by sender. Recollections of this house James Grahame has just sold.

Reference number: HS/8/299

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of religious matters, accusations against the Queen, and of Charles Babbage [letter completed 1820-11-4].

Reference number: HS/8/300

Autograph letter signed by sender. Offers John Frederick William Herschel the consolations of religion to deal with his unhappiness.

Reference number: HS/8/301
1821

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. Family news.

Reference number: HS/8/302

Draft letter. Responds to James Grahame's consolations [see James Grahame's 1820-11-6] in John Frederick William Herschel's loss [Miss Gwatkin?]; comments on his commitment to astronomy, together with family news [letter completed 1821-3-12].

Reference number: HS/8/303

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news, James Grahame's reduced circumstances, and public affairs.

Reference number: HS/8/304

Autograph letter signed by sender. On the loss of a friend's wife and child, the death of Napoleon, and on the John Frederick William Herschel/James Grahame correspondence.

Reference number: HS/8/305

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Responds to James Grahame's consolations [see James Grahame's 1820-11-6] in John Frederick William Herschel's loss [Miss Gwatkin?]; comments on his commitment to astronomy, together with family news [letter completed 1821-3-12].

Reference number: HS/20/114
1822

Death of Sir William Herschel FRS

25 August 1822

Autograph letter signed by sender. About their relationship.

Reference number: HS/8/306

Autograph letter signed by sender. Comments on the need to travel, and on the boredom of the meetings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; family news.

Reference number: HS/8/307

Autograph letter signed by sender. Comments on library facilities available to James Grahame, followed by family news.

Reference number: HS/8/308

Autograph letter signed by sender. Invites John Frederick William Herschel to go to the Netherlands with James Grahame.

Reference number: HS/8/309

Autograph letter signed by sender. Further on James Grahame's travel plans [see James Grahame's 1822-7-15].

Reference number: HS/8/310

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news on James Grahame's return from the Continent.

Reference number: HS/8/311

Autograph letter signed by sender. Some news from Amsterdam, and some family news.

Reference number: HS/8/312

Copy of a letter, incomplete. Expresses remorse for John Frederick William Herschel's inattention to William Herschel while still alive. Lady Mary Herschel's grief. Invites James Grahame to [missing]. Hopes to visit before James Grahame leaves England.

Reference number: HS/19/29

Copy of a letter. Despatched James Grahame's 'goods' this week. John Frederick William Herschel vexed by tenant [Mr. Davenport], who will neither pay rent nor leave farm. Congratulates James Grahame's sister on change in family. Sends £10 for expenses during journey [in Netherlands]. Did Richard Jones return Ephemerides du citoyen? News of John Frederick William Herschel's traveling companion Mr. Gibson.

Reference number: HS/19/41
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. About meeting Walter Scott, lawsuits and family news.

Reference number: HS/8/313

Autograph letter signed by sender. About books James Grahame has read including some poems by John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/314

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is coming to London and wants to see John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/315
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

Autograph letter signed by sender. On James Grahame's concern for John Frederick William Herschel's well-being.

Reference number: HS/8/316

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends blessings on John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/317

Draft letter. Of John Frederick William Herschel's continental travels and their dangers, and of James Grahame's possible marriage plans.

Reference number: HS/8/318

Draft letter. About the termination of James Grahame's marriage plans, and the joys of travel.

Reference number: HS/8/319

Draft letter, incomplete. About the last part of John Frederick William Herschel's continental travels, including his visit to Caroline Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/320

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel about lodgings in London for James Grahame and his children. James Grahame has begun his history of North America.

Reference number: HS/8/321

Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. About the termination of James Grahame's marriage plans, and the joys of travel.

Reference number: HS/20/185

Copy of draft letter, incomplete. About the last part of John Frederick William Herschel's continental travels, including his visit to Caroline Herschel.

Reference number: HS/20/187
1825

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

1825

Autograph letter signed by sender. About lodgings in London [see James Grahame's 1824-12-31], James Grahame's writing, and his 'love affairs.'

Reference number: HS/8/322

Autograph letter signed by sender. More about lodgings in London [see James Grahame's 1825-2-14], and about books James Grahame and John Frederick William Herschel have read [letter completed 1825-3-9].

Reference number: HS/8/323

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's history of the United States, the first part of which is now finished, and forwarded with this letter.

Reference number: HS/8/324

Autograph letter signed by sender. More about James Grahame's writings [see James Grahame's 1825-5-16].

Reference number: HS/8/325

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of dreams, poetry, and John Frederick William Herschel's winning the Lalande Prize [letter completed 1825-6-6].

Reference number: HS/8/326

Autographed letter . Anxiety about the response to James Grahame's manuscript by the publisher [see James Grahame's 1825-5-16].

Reference number: HS/8/327

Autograph letter signed by sender. Still has not heard from publisher [see James Grahame's 1825-6-23].

Reference number: HS/8/328

Copy of a letter. Reports to James Grahame on the publisher's response. John Frederick William Herschel offers James Grahame financial assistance, telling James Grahame 'I am rich,' John Frederick William Herschel's income being significantly greater than his needs.

Reference number: HS/8/329

Autograph letter signed by sender. About the publisher's offer, and James Grahame's intent to go to Göttingen for research purposes.

Reference number: HS/8/330

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has stopped in London and learned of the death of James Grahame's mother.

Reference number: HS/8/331

Autograph letter signed by sender. Mostly related to the death of James Grahame's mother.

Reference number: HS/8/332

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel to obtain entry for James Grahame to the British Museum library.

Reference number: HS/8/333

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is waiting to recover his health before he leaves for Scotland.

Reference number: HS/8/334

Autograph letter signed by sender. About travel plans once he recovers his health.

Reference number: HS/8/335

Copy of a letter. Reports to James Grahame on the publisher's response. John Frederick William Herschel offers James Grahame financial assistance, telling James Grahame 'I am rich,' John Frederick William Herschel's income being significantly greater than his needs.

Reference number: HS/20/216
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. Of James Grahame's journey north and the woman who nursed him back to health [letter completed 1826-2-16 at Wandsworth].

Reference number: HS/8/336

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's fatigue on his return home.

Reference number: HS/8/337

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's health, the need for John Frederick William Herschel to marry, and plans for the summer.

Reference number: HS/8/338

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks for information, on behalf of James Grahame's father, about a Cambridge man.

Reference number: HS/8/339

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's children and his plans to move to Hastings.

Reference number: HS/8/340

Autograph letter signed by sender. About plans to spend the winter at Hastings.

Reference number: HS/8/341

Autograph letter signed by sender. About the weather and people in Hastings.

Reference number: HS/8/342

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame urges John Frederick William Herschel to marry. James Grahame has begun to write history again.

Reference number: HS/8/343

Autograph letter signed by sender. Shares some gossip, and asks advice about a dedication for James Grahame's book.

Reference number: HS/8/344

Autograph letter signed by sender. Worried about John Frederick William Herschel's love life.

Reference number: HS/8/345

Autograph letter signed by sender. About plans for the Christmas season, the weather, history writing, and book publishing.

Reference number: HS/8/346

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of plans to go to London.

Reference number: HS/8/347

Autograph letter signed by sender. About John Frederick William Herschel's mother's illness, and an invitation to John Frederick William Herschel to visit Hastings.

Reference number: HS/8/348
1827

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

1827

Remarks on Pharsalia, the Roman poem. Has received a pamphlet on army laws.

Reference number: HS/8/285

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's book publisher. Requests support in the application of Granville Sharp Pattison for a professorship at London University [letter completed 1827-1-25].

Reference number: HS/8/349

Autograph letter signed by sender. About John Frederick William Herschel's mother, and the behavior of Charles Babbage.

Reference number: HS/8/350

Draft letter. Comments on behavior of Charles Babbage [see James Grahame's 1827-2-1].

Reference number: HS/8/351

Autographed letter . More about Charles Babbage [see John Frederick William Herschel's 1827-2-11]; requests John Frederick William Herschel's assistance to gain entry to the British Museum library.

Reference number: HS/8/352

Autograph letter signed by sender. About the state of James Grahame's health, and his feelings about slavery.

Reference number: HS/8/353

Autograph letter signed by sender. About reviews of James Grahame's book, and of a painting of Galileo that James Grahame saw.

Reference number: HS/8/354

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of John Frederick William Herschel's health, of James Grahame's daughter Matilda, and the people he has met in Dawlish.

Reference number: HS/8/355

Autograph letter signed by sender. A silly imaginary dialogue among John Frederick William Herschel's servants, and about James Grahame's travels in Devonshire.

Reference number: HS/8/356

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news, and marriage prospects for James Grahame and John Frederick William Herschel [letter completed 1827-8-15 at Dawlish].

Reference number: HS/8/357

Autograph letter signed by sender. Trivia about life in Dawlish [letter completed 1827-8-31].

Reference number: HS/8/358

Autograph letter signed by sender. Looking for winter lodgings.

Reference number: HS/8/359

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has taken lodgings at 5 Kensington Square, and now needs introductions to friends of the Herschels in the area [letter completed 1827-10-8].

Reference number: HS/8/360

Autograph letter signed by sender. Arrangements about meeting John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/361

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 behavior of Charles Babbage [see James Grahame's 1827-2-1].

Reference number: HS/20/249

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. About the state of James Grahame's health, and his feelings about slavery.

Reference number: HS/20/250
1828

Autograph letter signed by sender. Hoping to meet John Frederick William Herschel again.

Reference number: HS/8/362

Autograph letter signed by sender. News of mutual friends.

Reference number: HS/8/363

Autograph letter signed by sender. News of friends and of travel.

Reference number: HS/8/364

Autograph letter signed by sender. Invites himself and his brother to John Frederick William Herschel's for tea.

Reference number: HS/8/365

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of people James Grahame has met.

Reference number: HS/8/366

Autograph letter signed by sender. Invites John Frederick William Herschel to London to meet a friend of James Grahame.

Reference number: HS/8/367

Autograph letter signed by sender. John Frederick William Herschel's mother has been ill. Is John Frederick William Herschel coming into town?

Reference number: HS/8/368

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of James Grahame's travels and the people he meets [letter completed 1828-5-17 in Nantes].

Reference number: HS/8/369

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's just completed travels to Europe.

Reference number: HS/8/370

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame is worried about the health of his daughter.

Reference number: HS/8/371

Autograph letter signed by sender. Going to live at Nantes for awhile; asks John Frederick William Herschel's help with Customs.

Reference number: HS/8/372

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's journey to Nantes.

Reference number: HS/8/373

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel to communicate to some friends for him.

Reference number: HS/8/374

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informs James Grahame about mutual friends and James Grahame's daughter.

Reference number: HS/8/375

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of life in Nantes and mutual friends in England [letter includes a sketch of General Cambourne by James Grahame's son Robert].

Reference number: HS/8/376

Autograph letter signed by sender. Advice to John Frederick William Herschel, who is considering marriage.

Reference number: HS/8/377

Autograph letter signed by sender. John Frederick William Herschel describes his meeting with Margaret Stewart's mother to acquaint her with John Frederick William Herschel's intentions towards her daughter.

Reference number: HS/8/378

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sends happiest wishes to John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/379

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of mutual friends in England and life in Nantes.

Reference number: HS/8/380

Autograph letter signed by sender. Seasons greetings and thoughts on John Frederick William Herschel's upcoming marriage [letter completed 1829-1-4].

Reference number: HS/8/382

Copy of a letter. Writes to complain that John Frederick William Herschel has not seen or heard from James Grahame for some time.

Reference number: HS/21/3
1829

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

3 March 1829

Autograph letter signed by sender. Response to John Frederick William Herschel's wedding being set for March, and some news from Nantes.

Reference number: HS/8/381

Autograph letter signed by sender. Inconsequential chatter [letter completed 1829-2-7].

Reference number: HS/8/383

Autograph letter signed by sender. Best wishes to John Frederick William Herschel on his marriage.

Reference number: HS/8/384

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of John Frederick William Herschel's happiness on his honeymoon.

Reference number: HS/8/385

Autograph letter signed by sender. Informs John Frederick William Herschel that his mother has been ill but is improving [letter completed 1829-6-30].

Reference number: HS/8/386

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of travel and holiday plans.

Reference number: HS/8/387

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of changes in James Grahame's plans.

Reference number: HS/8/388

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has no letters about General Cambourne, which John Frederick William Herschel apparently had requested.

Reference number: HS/8/389

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel to be trustee for James Grahame in a legal matter.

Reference number: HS/8/390

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of plans to come to Slough.

Reference number: HS/8/391

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of the health of Peter Stewart, John Frederick William Herschel's brother-in-law.

Reference number: HS/8/392

Autograph letter signed by sender. Needs a copy of Euclid from John Frederick William Herschel; quotes some Latin poetry of Nicholas Copernicus.

Reference number: HS/8/393
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. Of a romance that James Grahame has written.

Reference number: HS/8/394

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks John Frederick William Herschel to translate a letter of James Grahame's into French.

Reference number: HS/8/395

Autograph letter signed by sender. About the French Revolution and an anticipated civil war [letter completed 1830-8-25].

Reference number: HS/8/397

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family and travel news.

Reference number: HS/8/398

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of lost letters and the death of Isabella Stewart.

Reference number: HS/8/399

Autograph letter signed by sender. Comments on John Frederick William Herschel's lost election for President of the Royal Society [of London]

Reference number: HS/8/400

Autographed letter . Silly story asking 'what has become of James Grahame?'

Reference number: HS/8/401
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. Of the health of John Frederick William Herschel's brother-in-law, John Stewart, and the publication of John Frederick William Herschel's Prelim. Discourse [letter completed 1831-2-8].

Reference number: HS/8/402

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news and news of James Grahame's plans for travel.

Reference number: HS/8/404

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of James Grahame's travels in the south of France, fighting in France, and family news.

Reference number: HS/8/405

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news.

Reference number: HS/8/406

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's travel plans, and about John Frederick William Herschel's Prelim. Discourse.

Reference number: HS/8/407

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's father-in-law's precarious position in the Protestant church of France.

Reference number: HS/8/408

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news, and congratulations to John Frederick William Herschel on his knighthood.

Reference number: HS/8/409

Autograph letter signed by sender. Responds to the news that John Frederick William Herschel's mother is seriously ill.

Reference number: HS/8/410
1832

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame is revising his diary.

Reference number: HS/8/411

Autograph letter signed by sender. Encourages John Frederick William Herschel to undertake a proposed trip to the Southern Hemisphere [letter completed 1832-5-1].

Reference number: HS/8/412

Autograph letter signed by sender. Wants to hear more specifics of John Frederick William Herschel's travel plans.

Reference number: HS/8/413

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of travels and family health.

Reference number: HS/8/414

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has just put his son, Robert, into an institution for 'persons of unsound mind.'

Reference number: HS/8/415

Autograph letter signed by sender. On the health of the family.

Reference number: HS/8/416
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. Of ill health and medical stories [letter completed 1833-2-2].

Reference number: HS/8/417

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of health and reminiscences of the past [letter completed 1833-2-22].

Reference number: HS/8/418

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sharing some good and some bad news.

Reference number: HS/8/419

Autograph letter signed by sender. Bad news about the health of James Grahame's daughter Matilda.

Reference number: HS/8/420

Autograph letter signed by sender. Preparation to go to Madeira for health reasons.

Reference number: HS/8/421

Autograph letter signed by sender. On the state of Matilda's health [letter completed 1833-10-2].

Reference number: HS/8/422
1834

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

1834

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of family news, health, and an eclipse of the moon [letter completed 1834-1-8].

Reference number: HS/8/423

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of dreams and illness.

Reference number: HS/8/424

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of the return to France and the family health.

Reference number: HS/8/425
1835

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. Matilda becomes weaker and weaker [letter completed 1835-3-10].

Reference number: HS/8/426

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of time spent with Peter Stewart, John Frederick William Herschel's brother-in-law.

Reference number: HS/8/427

Autograph letter signed by sender. James Grahame is ill in London.

Reference number: HS/8/428

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has completed his revision of his historical work.

Reference number: HS/8/429
1836

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

5 February 1836

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of health, family news, and the reception of James Grahame's latest book [letter completed 1836-2-17].

Reference number: HS/8/430

Autograph letter signed by sender. News of family and friends.

Reference number: HS/8/431
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

Autograph letter signed by sender. Family news update.

Reference number: HS/8/432
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. Welcome home to the Herschels.

Reference number: HS/8/433

Autograph letter signed by sender. Of family troubles, and Matilda's impending marriage.

Reference number: HS/8/434
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. Encourages John Frederick William Herschel to visit at Nantes.

Reference number: HS/8/435
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. Comments on John Frederick William Herschel's laying to rest of William Herschel's 40-foot telescope.

Reference number: HS/8/436

Autograph letter signed by sender. On the effect of John Frederick William Herschel's visit to Nantes.

Reference number: HS/8/437

Autograph letter signed by sender. Note accompanying a sketch of an earlier time in the lives of James Grahame and John Frederick William Herschel (sketch by Jane Grahame).

Reference number: HS/8/438
1841

Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister

1841

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

1841

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. Of James Grahame's intention to write a pamphlet against slavery.

Reference number: HS/8/439

Autograph letter signed by sender. Note to let John Frederick William Herschel know that James Grahame is in England.

Reference number: HS/8/440

Autograph letter signed by sender. A note to arrange a meeting with John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/441

Autograph letter signed by sender. A note to arrange dinner with John Frederick William Herschel.

Reference number: HS/8/442

Autograph letter signed by sender. Is unable to be of assistance to John Frederick William Herschel in the matter of a military appointment.

Reference number: HS/8/443

Autograph letter signed by sender. About James Grahame's intended marriage.

Reference number: HS/8/444

Autograph letter signed by sender. Has briefly come into London on distressing business.

Reference number: HS/8/445
1844

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

1844

1845

Sir John Herschel serves as President of the British Association

1845

Autographed draft letter. C. P. Smyth, chief assistant at Cape observatory for past nine years, is capable observer and qualified to succeed Thomas Henderson as Royal Astronomer at Edinburgh.

Reference number: HS/19/122
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

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.

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

1849

Sir John Herschel publishes Outlines of Astronomy.

1849

1850

Sir John Herschel is appointed Master of the Mint

1850

1851

Sir John Herschel serves as juror of the Great Exhibition

1851

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

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.

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

1866

Sir John Herschel publishes his translation of Homer’s Iliad

1866

1867

Sir John Herschel publishes Familiar Lectures on Scientific Subjects

1867

1868

Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister

1 February 1868

William Gladstone becomes Prime Minister

1 December 1868

Autograph letter signed by sender. Sending the dimensions of the Great Stone in the quarry near Baalbek. Has sent his paper to the Consul in Egypt. Greatly enjoyed his stay at the Herschels'.

Reference number: HS/9/114