William Herschel

(From "Voyager at Uranus," 1986, NASA JPL 400-268 7/85)

A professional interest in musical theory, which broadened to encompass a general study of mathematics, preceded Sir William Herschel's passionate interest in astronomy and led to his discovery of the seventh planet.

He was born Frederich Wilhelm Herschel in Hanover in 1738. His father, a bandmaster in the Hanoverian Guards, encouraged him toward a musical career, and Herschel joined the Hanoverian Guards as a musician in his midteens. He moved to England in his early twenties after service in the Seven Years' War. With the goal of becoming a composer, he traveled throughout England working as a freelance musician, music copier, and organist. In 1766, Herschel won appointment as the organist for the new Octagon Chapel in Bath. He was later named director of public concerts for the city.

Herschel read widely on the subjects of harmonics, mathematics, and philosophy. Historians believe the first book he read on astronomy was James Ferguson's "Astronomy Explained Upon Sir Isaac Newton's Principles, and Made Easy to Those Who Have Not Studied Mathematics."

By his late thirties, his dabbling in astronomy had become a more consuming hobby. He put rudimentary telescopes together from scraps and used parts. The more of the sky he saw, the more he wanted to see. By late 1773, when he couldn't afford to buy the most powerful telescope available, he determined to build his own.

Herschel and his brother Alexander and sister Caroline, also musicians, shared a house in Bath. Building William's telescopes became a family affair.

Alexander helped with the construction. "It was to my sorrow," wrote Caroline in her memoirs, "that I saw almost every room turned into a workshop...Alex putting up a huge turning machine in a bedroom for turning patterns, grinding glasses and turning eyepieces."