Biographies of distinguished scientific men. First seriesArago, F. (François)
History
Biographies of distinguished scientific men. First series
Arago, F. (François)
Scientists -- Biography
Miss Caroline Lucretia Herschel went to England as soon as her brother
became special astronomer to the king. She received the appellation
there of Assistant Astronomer, with a moderate salary. From that moment
she unreservedly devoted herself to the service of her brother, happy
in contributing night and day to his rapidly increasing scientific
reputation. Miss Caroline shared in all the night-watches of her
brother, with her eye constantly on the clock, and the pencil in her
hand; she made all the calculations without exception; she made three or
four copies of all the observations in separate registers; cooerdinated,
classed, and analyzed them. If the scientific world saw with
astonishment how Herschel's works succeeded each other with unexampled
rapidity during so many years, they were specially indebted for it to
the ardour of Miss Caroline. Astronomy, moreover, has been directly
enriched by several comets through this excellent and respectable lady.
After the death of her illustrious brother, Miss Caroline retired to
Hanover, to the house of Jahn Dietrich Herschel, a musician of high
reputation, and the only surviving brother of the astronomer.
William Herschel died without pain on the 23d of August 1822, aged
eighty-three. Good fortune and glory never altered in him the fund of
infantine candour, inexhaustible benevolence, and sweetness of
character, with which nature had endowed him. He preserved to the last
both his brightness of mind and vigour of intellect. For some years
Herschel enjoyed with delight the distinguished success of his only
son,[16] Sir John Herschel. At his last hour he sunk to rest with the
pleasing conviction that his beloved son, heir of a great name, would
not allow it to fall into oblivion, but adorn it with fresh lustre, and
that great discoveries would honour his career also. No prediction of
the illustrious astronomer has been more completely verified.
The English journals gave an account of the means adopted by the family
of William Herschel, for preserving the remains of the great telescope
of thirty-nine English feet (twelve metres) constructed by that
celebrated astronomer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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