Skip to content

Please be aware that some material may contain words, descriptions or illustrations which will not reflect current scientific understanding and may be considered in today's context inaccurate, unethical, offensive or distressing.

The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Correspondence Explorer

Choose two people to view all letters between them.

Showing 9 letters from 1821–1827

4 letters from John Pond; 5 letters from John Frederick William Herschel

Filter by year

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.

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. Provides a detailed critique of a mathematical paper by [J. M. H.] Wronski, which John Pond presented on Wronski's behalf to the Royal Society [of London] Suggests that John Pond urge Wronski to withdraw the paper.

Reference number: HS/14/30

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Provides a detailed critique of a mathematical paper by [J. M. H.] Wronski, which John Pond presented on Wronski's behalf to the Royal Society [of London] Suggests that John Pond urge Wronski to withdraw the paper.

Reference number: HS/20/126

Taking issue with a paper sent to the Royal Society by Josef Hoëné de Wronski on the equilibrium of fluids.

Reference number: MM/6/74
1822

Death of Sir William Herschel FRS

25 August 1822

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanks for sending your catalogues. Requests duplicates. Has made annotations indicating the 'quantity which Mr. [F. W.] Bessel's Instrument places the stars to the south of my determinations.' Cannot yet explain discrepancy. Unable to determine a parallactic shift for Alpha Lyrae, Alpha Aquila, or Gamma Draconis.

Reference number: HS/14/31

Autograph letter signed by sender. Thanks John Frederick William Herschel for extract from a letter from [J. J.] Littrow. Discusses in detail positional determinations of various stars he has made, attempting to determine whether errors of either observations or computation have entered into his results. Reports that in general there is substantial agreement between determinations made by John Pond and those made by John Brinkley at Ireland's Royal Observatory. Mentions solar observations at Greenwich.

Reference number: HS/14/32

Autograph letter signed by sender. Asks that list of errata be published before a committee meets to investigate 'the subject of Mr. Lee's [?] animadversions.'

Reference number: HS/14/33
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

Contemporary copy in sender's hand, signed by sender. Introduces [C. T.] Largeteau from France, who wishes to receive from John Pond the observations made at Greenwich as part of the determination of the difference in longitude between the Greenwich and Paris observatories. Recounts some difficulties encountered in making the measurements.

Reference number: HS/14/34

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Introduces [C. T.] Largeteau from France, who wishes to receive from John Pond the observations made at Greenwich as part of the determination of the difference in longitude between the Greenwich and Paris observatories. Recounts some difficulties encountered in making the measurements.

Reference number: HS/20/217
1826

John Frederick William Herschel publishes in the Philosophical Transactions

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

1827

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

1827

Autograph letter signed by sender. Lacks information on Augustin Fresnel. Praises John Frederick William Herschel's drawing as rendering unnecessary annexing one to his paper. Has not yet unpacked the new telescope sent by John Ramage.

Reference number: HS/14/35