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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Correspondence Explorer

Choose two people to view all letters between them.

Showing 13 letters from 1820–1825

12 letters from Johann Elert Bode; 1 letter from John Frederick William Herschel

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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. Thanks John Frederick William Herschel for news of newly formed Astronomical Society; will be pleased to be a foreign correspondent for it.

Reference number: HS/4/163
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. Thanks for letter. Will do all in his power to further the cause of the Astronomical Society. Missing parts of Nautical Almanac and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Would John Frederick William Herschel look into matter. Unable to send complete set of his Astronomical Yearbook, but can supply some for a suitable sum.

Reference number: HS/4/164

Modern translation of letter HS/4/164. Thanks for letter. Will do all in his power to further the cause of the Astronomical Society. Missing parts of Nautical Almanac and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Would John Frederick William Herschel look into matter. Unable to send complete set of his Astronomical Yearbook, but can supply some for a suitable sum.

Reference number: HS/4/164a

Autograph letter signed by sender. Should have received the Astronomical Yearbook. No news of its receipt or answers to letters of 12 May and 19 June. Observations which John Frederick William Herschel sent will appear in the 1824 Yearbook. Has not received the Nautical Almanac for 1821/2.

Reference number: HS/4/165

Modern translation of letter HS/4/165. Autograph letter signed by sender. Should have received the Astronomical Yearbook. No news of its receipt or answers to letters of 12 May and 19 June. Observations which John Frederick William Herschel sent will appear in the 1824 Yearbook. Has not received the Nautical Almanac for 1821/2.

Reference number: HS/4/165a

Autograph letter signed by sender. Inquires after a case of Year-books previously dispatched. Cost £14-4-0. No answers to his letters of May, June or August.

Reference number: HS/4/166

Modern translation of letter. Inquires after a case of Year-books previously dispatched. Cost £14-4-0 "surely the case is not lost?". No news for 6 months.

Reference number: HS/4/166a

Autograph letter signed by sender. Acknowledges John Frederick William Herschel's receipt of Astronomical Yearbook, also payment for same. Thanks for information of Southern comets.

Reference number: HS/4/167

Modern translation of letter HS/4/167. Acknowledges John Frederick William Herschel's receipt of Astronomical Yearbook, also payment for same. Thanks for information of Southern comets.

Reference number: HS/4/167a

Summaries of exchanges between German astronomer Johann Elert Bode (1747-1826) and Sir John Frederick William Herschel and concerning Bode, made by Sir John Frederick William Herschel, likely as a calendar of exchanges related to the Royal Astronomical Society. The notes are headed 'Bode', the name is repeated on f.3 and at the back of f.4. Letter 1: Offer to make Bode Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society sent May 9 1820, note that a copy of the letter exists in the copie of letter sent Letter 2: Answer from Bode 'acquiescing' the proposal, who published a notice in the Jahrbuch for 1823 regarding the formation of the RAS. Exchange 3: "Having understood from various quarters that Mr Bode was in very distressed circumstances & even actually in prison to which extreme age, blindness & other aggravating circumstances were added, I suggested Baron [George] Best to institute enquiries in Berlin with the truth of these statements with a view to affording him assistance by way of subscription on the 27th April 1821. I in consequence received a letter from Baron Best ... assuring me that all such reports were utterly groundless, & giving a very satisfying account of Mr Bode's situation." Letter 4: Dated March 23 1821, copy from HS/18/10 confirming Bode's election as associate to the RAS, asking that RAS's annual prize be announced in Jahrbuch, asking for insertion of 'Reclamation' of Francis Baily against Jabbo Oltmanns, relative to the eclipse of [Thales?], into next Ephemeris. Sending copies of Bode's Ephemeris for T. F. Colby and for RAS. Letter 5: from Bode to Herschel, dated May 12 1821 in collection as HS/4/164; Bode thankful for his election, related to various astronomical publications ( Nautical Almanac; Philosophical Transactions; Astronomical Yearbook). Letter 6: only note regarding follow-up from previous - Herschel charged Lee to send the volumes to Bode. Exchange 7: October 1821, following return from Herschel, various letters by Bode, regarding the volumes sent by him but not acknowledged, not having received the volumes from Lee (Phil. Trans.) Exchange 8: November to December 1821, Herschel settling accounts for the books exchanged with Bode and asking for receipt of the sums, Bode complaining about not having received the Phil. Trans. from Lee. All letters are summarised in short paragraph, written in first person.

Reference number: HS/19/2
1822

Death of Sir William Herschel FRS

25 August 1822

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanks for the Nautical Almanac. Still requires Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1817. Through Francis Baily he will receive copies of his Yearbook, one for his father and one for the Royal Society [of London]

Reference number: HS/4/168

Modern translation of letter HS/4/168. Thanks for the Nautical Almanac. Still requires Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1817. Through Francis Baily he will receive copies of his Yearbook, one for his father and one for the Royal Society [of London]

Reference number: HS/4/168a
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”.

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. Will receive 1827 Astronomical Yearbook through Mr. Hunnemann. Would be glad if he could hurry up the Parramatta Observations from K. L. C. Rümker. Various queries regarding publications.

Reference number: HS/4/169