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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy of letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Samuel Stratford, dated at 37 Tavistock Place

Reference number: HS/22/316

Date: 4 May 1847

Description

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Approves naming the new planet Neptune and continued designation of John Frederick William Herschel's father's planet as Uranus. Suggests reasons and alternatives.

Reference number
HS/22/316
Earliest possible date
4 May 1847
Page extent
2 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Copy of letter, from Sir John Herschel to William Samuel Stratford, dated at 37 Tavistock Place, 4 May 1847, HS/22/316, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_316/copy-of-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-samuel-stratford-dated-at-37-tavistock-place, accessed on 17 June 2026

Link to this record

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_316/copy-of-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-william-samuel-stratford-dated-at-37-tavistock-place

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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