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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Whewell, dated at Collingwood

Reference number: HS/22/294

Date: 29 December 1846

Description

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Responding to a published statement by William Whewell regarding the discovery of Neptune, John Frederick William Herschel presents in detail a different interpretation, giving more credit to U. J. J. Leverrier than William Whewell favored. Suggests that some observatory make a photographic record of sunspots.

Reference number
HS/22/294
Earliest possible date
29 December 1846
Page extent
4 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Whewell, dated at Collingwood, 29 December 1846, HS/22/294, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_294/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-whewell-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 12 February 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_294/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-whewell-dated-at-collingwood

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  • Herschel Letters

    This collection of nearly 10,900 letters, drafts, copies and notes is the largest repository of scientific correspondence from and to Sir John Herschel, leading figure of Victorian science.

    Dates: 1807 - 1875

    View collection