Caroline Herschel Timeline

(1750 – 1848)

Caroline Herschel (1750–1848) was a German-born British astronomer who became the first woman to receive a salary for scientific work, discovered several comets, and cataloged stars and nebulae alongside her brother William Herschel. More Less

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Early Life

Father joins Hanoverian Foot Guards

1731

Isaac Herschel became a bandmaster in the Hanoverian Foot Guards, whom he first joined in 1731. He was away with his regiment for substantial periods during Caroline's childhood.

Image source: Caroline Herschel

Father falls ill after Battle of Dettingen

1743

Isaac Herschel became ill after the Battle of Dettingen (in the War of the Austrian Succession) in 1743 and never recovered fully; he suffered a weak constitution, chronic pain, and asthma for the remainder of his life.

Image source: Battle of Dettingen

Caroline Herschel born in Hanover

Mar 16, 1750

Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born in the town of Hanover, Germany, on 16 March 1750. She was the eighth child and fourth daughter of Isaac Herschel (1707–1767), a self-taught oboist, and his wife, Anna Ilse Moritzen (1710–1789).

Sister Sophia Elizabeth marries Griesbach

1755

The oldest daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Herschel (1733–1803), sixteen years older than Caroline, married violinist Joachim Heinrich Griesbach when Caroline was five, which resulted in the younger girl being tasked with much of the household drudgery.

Caroline leaves Hanover for England

Aug 15, 1772

Caroline eventually left Hanover on 15 August 1772 after her brothers intervened with their recalcitrant mother, moving to England to join her brother William.

William marries Mary Pitt, straining sibling relationship

1788

When William married a rich widow, Mary Pitt (née Baldwin) in 1788, the union caused tension in the brother-sister relationship. As Caroline destroyed her journals from 1788 to 1798, her feelings about the period are not entirely known.

Image source: William Herschel

Death of Caroline Herschel

Jan 9, 1848

Caroline Herschel died peacefully in Hanover on 9 January 1848, leaving behind a remarkable legacy as one of the pioneering women astronomers in history.

Musical Career

Principal singer at William's oratorio concerts

1778

She became the principal singer at her brother's oratorio concerts, and acquired such a reputation as a vocalist that she was offered an engagement for the Birmingham festival after a performance of Handel's Messiah in April 1778, where she was the first soloist.

Last musical performance and move to court astronomer post

1782

Caroline and William gave their last musical performance in 1782, when her brother accepted the private office of court astronomer to King George III; the last few months of their musical career had been in shambles and were critically panned.

Astronomical Discoveries

William discovers Uranus while Caroline guards stock

Mar 13, 1781

The Herschels moved to a new house in March 1781 after their millinery business failed, and Caroline was guarding the leftover stock on 13 March, the night that William discovered the planet Uranus.

Image source: Uranus

Move to Datchet near Windsor Castle

1782

Caroline was asked to move from the high culture of Bath to the relative backwater of Datchet in 1782, a small town near Windsor Castle where William would be on hand to entertain royal guests.

Image source: Datchet

Caroline initiates her first record book

Aug 28, 1782

On 28 August 1782, Caroline initiated her first record book, marking the beginning of her systematic astronomical work alongside her brother.

William builds comet-searching telescope for Caroline

1783

In the summer of 1783, William finished building a comet-searching telescope for Caroline, which she began to use immediately in her hunt for comets.

First discovery of a nebula not in Messier catalogue

Feb 26, 1783

On 26 February 1783, Caroline made her first discovery: she had found a nebula that was not included in the Messier catalogue.

Image source: Messier object

Herschels begin nebula search with 20-foot telescope

Oct 1783

Beginning in October 1783, the Herschels used a 20-foot reflecting telescope to search for nebulae, greatly expanding their astronomical observations.

Discovery of first comet

Aug 1, 1786

During 1786–1797 Caroline discovered eight comets, the first on 1 August 1786 while her brother was away and she was using his telescope.

Image source: 35P/Herschel–Rigollet

Discovery of third and fourth comets

Jan 7, 1790 - Apr 17, 1790

The third comet was discovered on 7 January 1790, and the fourth one on 17 April 1790. She announced both to Sir Joseph Banks, and all were discovered with her 1783 telescope.

Switches to 9-inch telescope for comet searching

1791

In 1791, Caroline began to use a 9-inch telescope for her comet-searching, and discovered three more comets with this instrument.

Discovery of fifth and sixth comets

Dec 15, 1791 - Oct 7, 1795

Her fifth comet was discovered on 15 December 1791 and the sixth on 7 October 1795, both found using her instruments during her dedicated comet searches.

Rediscovery of Comet Encke

1795

Caroline had unquestioned priority as discoverer of five of her comets and rediscovered Comet Encke in 1795, adding to her growing reputation among astronomers.

Image source: Comet Encke

Flamsteed discrepancies identified

1797

In 1797 William's observations showed there were great many discrepancies in John Flamsteed's star catalogue, which was difficult to use because it had been published as two volumes and contained many errors.

Image source: John Flamsteed

Discovery of eighth and final comet

Aug 6, 1797

Two years later, her eighth and last comet was discovered on 6 August 1797, the only comet she discovered without optical aid.

Publication of Flamsteed index and star catalogue

1798

Flamsteed's Observations Contained in the Second Volume of the Historia Coelestis, and Not Inserted in the British Catalogue was published by the Royal Society in 1798, containing an index of every observation of every star made by Flamsteed, a list of errata, and a list of more than 560 stars that had not been included—work presented by Caroline to the Royal Society.

Catalogue published under William's name

1802

In 1802, the Royal Society published Caroline's catalogue in its Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A under William's name.

Image source: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Moves back to Hanover after William's death

1822

After her brother died in 1822, Caroline was grief-stricken and moved back to Hanover, Germany, continuing her astronomical studies to verify and confirm William's findings and producing a catalogue of nebulae to assist her nephew John Herschel in his work.

Image source: Hanover

Final entry in observing book about Great Comet of 1823

Jan 31, 1824

Caroline added her final entry to her observing book on 31 January 1824 about the Great Comet of 1823, which had already been discovered on 29 December 1823.

Image source: Great Comet of 1823

Final entry in observing book about Great Comet of 1823

Recognition and Honors

Granted £50 annual salary by George III

1787

In 1787, Caroline was granted an annual salary of £50 by George III for her work as William's assistant, becoming the first woman—at a time when even men rarely received wages for scientific enterprises—to receive a salary for services to science.

Image source: George III

Maskelyne congratulates Caroline on comet discoveries

Dec 1788

In December 1788, Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne wrote back congratulating Caroline on her comet discoveries.

Image source: Nevil Maskelyne

Guest of the royal family at Greenwich

Aug 1799

In August 1799, Caroline was independently recognized for her work when she spent a week in Greenwich as a guest of the royal family, and she was also a guest of Maskelyne at the Royal Observatory that year.

Image source: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

Guest of members of the royal family

1816 - 1818

Caroline was a guest of members of the Royal Family at various times in 1816, 1817 and 1818, reflecting her growing recognition for her scientific contributions.

Awarded Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society

1828

In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society presented Caroline with their Gold Medal 'for her recent reduction, to January, 1800, of the [2,500] Nebulæ discovered by her illustrious brother'—no woman would be awarded it again until Vera Rubin in 1996.

Image source: Royal Astronomical Society

Named honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society

1835

The Royal Astronomical Society elected Caroline an honorary member in 1835, along with Mary Somerville; they were the first female members of the society.

Elected honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy

1838

Caroline was elected as an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin in 1838, further cementing her international recognition.

Image source: Royal Irish Academy

Gold medal for Science from the King of Prussia

1846

In 1846, at the age of 96, Caroline was awarded a gold medal for Science by the King of Prussia, conveyed to her by Alexander von Humboldt, 'in recognition of the valuable services rendered to Astronomy by you, as the fellow-worker of your immortal brother, Sir William Herschel.'

Image source: Alexander von Humboldt

Legacy and Commemoration

Donates Flamsteed works to Royal Academy of Göttingen

1825

In 1825, Caroline donated the works of Flamsteed to the Royal Academy of Göttingen, contributing to the preservation of important astronomical records.

Image source: University of Göttingen

Asteroid 281 Lucretia named in her honour

1888

The asteroid 281 Lucretia (discovered 1888) was named after Caroline's second given name, honoring her contributions to astronomy.

Image source: 281 Lucretia

Adrienne Rich publishes poem 'Planetarium'

1968

Adrienne Rich's 1968 poem 'Planetarium' celebrates Caroline Herschel's life and scientific achievements.

Image source: Aniara

Featured in Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party

1969

Judy Chicago's artwork The Dinner Party, which celebrates historical women who have made extraordinary contributions, features a place setting for Caroline Herschel.

Image source: The Dinner Party

Google Doodle honours her 266th birthday

Mar 16, 2016

Google honoured Caroline Herschel with a Google Doodle on her 266th birthday (16 March 2016).

Image source: Google Doodle

ÑuSat 10 satellite named 'Caroline' launched

Nov 6, 2020

On 6 November 2020, a satellite named after her (ÑuSat 10 or 'Caroline', COSPAR 2020-079B) was launched into space.

Image source: ÑuSat

Jessy Randall publishes Mathematics for Ladies

2022

Poet Jessy Randall's 2022 collection Mathematics for Ladies includes a poem honoring Caroline Herschel.

Diary pages displayed at Herschel Museum of Astronomy

2023

In 2023, the 57 densely handwritten pages of her diary were put on display in the music room of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath, where Herschel resided. The diary documents her life from 1755 to 1775.

Image source: Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Jay Anderson releases single 'Moving'

2024

In 2024, UK musician and singer-songwriter Jay Anderson released the single 'Moving' on Real Kind Records, a song dedicated to the life and times of Caroline Herschel.

Image source: Samantha Crain

Key Facts

Caroline Herschel was born on March 16, 1750, in Hanover, Germany.
In 1786, she discovered her first comet, ultimately discovering eight comets over her career.
She was awarded a salary by King George III in 1787, making her the first woman paid for scientific work in England.
In 1828, she received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the first woman to earn this honor.
She assisted her brother William Herschel in building telescopes and cataloging thousands of stars and nebulae.

Source

This Caroline Herschel timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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