Correspondence map
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Jean Baptiste Biot
John Frederick William Herschel
John Frederick William Herschel serves on the Board of Longitude
1819
Autograph letter signed by sender. Has been very busy; otherwise he would have answered his friendly letter earlier. Observations on tourmaline. Double refraction.
2 May 1819 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/84
Autograph letter signed by sender. Queries regarding the refraction of light in crystals.
21 October 1819 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/85
Draft letter. Answers to Jean Baptiste Biot's queries on the refraction of light through crystals, and Newton's rings.
10 December 1819 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/4/86
Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Answers to Jean Baptiste Biot's queries on the refraction of light through crystals, and Newton's rings.
10 December 1819 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/78John 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
Draft letter. Fears that a letter written to him in November may not have reached him. Will send him a copy of his paper of colors. A Philosophical Society has been formed at Cambridge.
25 April 1820 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/4/87
Autograph letter signed by sender. Has received his letter written in November a little late. Observations on refraction and allied subjects.
6 May 1820 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/88
Autograph letter signed by sender. Further information on his experiments with refraction in various crystals, especially topaz.
26 September 1820 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/89
Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Sends a copy of the regulations of the Astronomical Society.
25 April 1820 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/92
Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Fears that a letter written to him in November may not have reached him. Will send him a copy of his paper of colors. A Philosophical Society has been formed at Cambridge.
25 April 1820 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/93John 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
Draft letter. Regarding refraction in crystals of apophyllite and quartz.
12 January 1821 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/4/90
Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Regarding refraction in crystals of apophyllite and quartz.
12 January 1821 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/20/108Death of Sir William Herschel FRS
25 August 1822
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”.
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
John Frederick William Herschel invents the actinometer to measure the heating power of the Sun’s rays
1825
John Frederick William Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions
1826:
John Frederick William Herschel publishes “On the parallax of the fixed stars”.
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce presents his photographs in England for the first time
1827
John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart are married in London
3 March 1829
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
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
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
Birth of Margaret Louisa Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart
1834
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
Birth of Alexander Stewart Herschel, son of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart
5 February 1836
Autograph letter signed by sender. Discussion of his latest experiments on polarization.
20 June 1836 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/91Victoria 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
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.
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. Concerning polarization of light rays in crystals of quartz.
7 May 1839 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/92Sir 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”
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. Regarding his recent experiments with light in crystals of alum etc.
14 June 1841 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/93
Autograph letter signed by sender. Possesses John Frederick William Herschel's tract on light. Would like his comments on various phenomena.
2 July 1841 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/94Birth 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”
Birth of Matilda Rose Herschel, daughter of John Frederick William Herschel and Margaret Brodie Stewart
1844
Sir John Herschel serves as President of the British Association
1845
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
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.
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
Sir John Herschel publishes Outlines of Astronomy.
1849
Sir John Herschel is appointed Master of the Mint
1850
Sir John Herschel serves as juror of the Great Exhibition
1851
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
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.
Draft letter. Was very pleased to receive another of Jean Baptiste Biot's works. Glad to be associated in his revelations concerning molecular and polarization powers. Recall their past meetings and hopes to renew acquaintance in Paris at some future date.
4 September 1860 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/4/94a
Autograph letter signed by sender. Regarding the missing publications of the Academy that John Frederick William Herschel has not received. Further regarding polarization in molecules.
16 September 1860 Sender: Jean Baptiste Biot Reference number: HS/4/95
Copy of draft letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Was very pleased to receive another of Jean Baptiste Biot's works. Glad to be associated in his revelations concerning molecular and polarization powers. Recall their past meetings and hopes to renew acquaintance in Paris at some future date.
4 September 1860 Sender: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/23/306Death 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
