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SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL

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HIS LIFE AND WORKS

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Sir William Herschel

HIS LIFE AND WORKS

BY

EDWARD S. HOLDEN

United States Naval Observatory, Washington

NEW YORK[Pg iv]
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
743 and 745 Broadway
1881

Copyright, 1880,
By CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.

PRESS OF J. J. LITTLE & CO.,
NOS. 10 TO 20 ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Typographical errors noticed during the preparation of this text have been underlinedlike this. A list has also been placed at the end.

PREFACE.

In the following account of the life and works of Sir William Herschel,I have been obliged to depend strictly upon data already in print—theMemoir of his sister, his own scientific writings and the memoirs anddiaries of his cotemporaries. The review of his published works will, Itrust, be of use. It is based upon a careful study of all his papers inthe Philosophical Transactions and elsewhere.

A life of Herschel which shall be satisfactory in every particular canonly be written after a full examination of the materials which arepreserved at the family seat in England; but as two generations havepassed since his death, and as no biography yet exists which approachesto completeness, no apology seems to me to be needed for aconscientious attempt to make the best use of the scanty material whichwe do possess.

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This study will, I trust, serve to exhibit so much of his life asbelongs to the whole public. His private life belongs to his family,until the time is come to let the world know more of the greatest ofpractical astronomers and of the inner life of one of its most profoundphilosophers,—of a great and ardent mind, whose achievements are andwill remain the glory of England.

CONTENTS.