Perhaps a strange choice for this gallery of under-appreciated British historical figures. For a start she was born in Hanover, Germany, on 16th March 1750 as Carolina Lucrezia Herschel. She first came to Britain at age 22. For years she lived in the shade of her brother, telescope pioneer and astronomer Wilhelm (William). While not born British, she spent over half her long life and did most of her important work in Britain. She carved an independent career as an astronomer, discovering at least seven comets. She was the first woman paid a salary by the British state, the first to submit papers to the Royal Society, and the first to be awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society.
Unpromising start
Caroline was one of a family of ten children. Her
father was a self-taught oboist in a Hanoverian military band. Her brothers
were also musicians. It was an unpromising start for Caroline, though. At age
ten she suffered from typhus, stunting her growth and leaving her almost blind
in her left eye. Her mother Anna wanted her to stay at home as a house help. With
a limited view of girls’ opportunities and thinking Caroline would never marry,
she prevented her daughter from acquiring skills like languages needed for a
career. Her father sometimes taught her individually, and she also learned a
bit of dressmaking and needlework. But at 4 foot tall and disfigured by
smallpox, a commentator remarked she was “the runt of a poor German military/musical
litter”.
So how did she become an Anglo-German star, who with
her brother William re-cast our idea of the universe from Newton’s mechanical
to the modern biological concept of a living and dying entity? A huge
discovery, it had implications not just for astronomy but in all areas of
learning. Why should Caroline Herschel deserve a place in a list of historical
figures whose achievements should maybe be better known or appreciated? What
events and circumstances led this uneducated, unprepossessing girl to thrive in
such a challenging field of study, be lauded by some of the great scientific
figures of the age, and throughout her life make such key contributions to
knowledge?
Lure of Hanoverian Britain
Her brother Friedrich Wilhelm (or William which he
later adopted) was literally instrumental. The context was Britain’s Hanoverian
rule in the 18th Century. The British monarch also reigned in the
Holy Roman Empire’s Electorate of Hanover. The result was that from 1714 a
succession of Hanoverians felt encouraged to come over to Britain to develop
their careers. London was at least 20 times the size of Hanover with a bigger
international reach, so in the military, in music and the arts or sciences
they’d be painting on a bigger canvas.
William first came to Britain in 1756 as an 18 year
old boy bandsman with the Hanoverian Guards, sent to boost the country in the
Seven Years War. He learned some English before being recalled. After the
Hastenbeck defeat of Hanover in 1757 William’s father was reluctant to allow William
to re-join his unit and he became technically a deserter. He and his elder
brother Jacob were then despatched to England penniless, and for two years
survived in London by copying music, teaching and performing where they could.
William took part-time jobs playing and conducting bands in Sunderland, Leeds
and Halifax. He also composed several symphonies, his real love at that stage.
He returned briefly to Hanover in 1764 - Jacob had
used his influence to release him from the Guards. William was no longer a
deserter but remained touchy about it for the rest of his life. He saw his
father for the last time (the latter died in 1767), but William was clearly committed
to England and in 1766 took up an offer to establish himself at Bath. Jacob
joined him for a while as did his younger sibling, Alexander. The brothers were
all able to play any instruments they laid hands on. Given Bath’s popularity as
a winter resort it offered rich pickings for talented performers. Jacob
eventually decided England was not for him, but William and Alexander, worried
about their sister’s life of home drudgery, proposed that she join them in Bath
as a singer. To soothe their mother’s ire they paid her for alternative home
help.
New life in Bath
Without obtaining head of the family Jacob’s
permission, on 16th August 1772, aged 22, Caroline left Hanover with
William for Bath - a tale in itself. They
spent six days in storms before reaching the Dutch coast. They were rowed two
miles in a dinghy to board the packet boat. Its mainmast broke. Dumped at last on
a Yarmouth beach they reached a house for breakfast, but on departure the horse
pulling their cart bolted, throwing them out. A kindly soul escorted them to a
London inn and next day they took the overnight coach to Bath, arriving at 4pm.
With Bath out of season Alexander was away. His absence was immaterial. Biographer
Michael Hoskin says, “Caroline was ‘almost annihilated,’ not having slept
properly for nearly a fortnight. She drank some tea, went to bed, and did not
wake until the following afternoon”.
Bath soon transformed her life. She kept house for
William, who was pre-occupied with a career as an organist and music teacher as
well as an organiser of public concerts. But now with a chance to learn she
took English, arithmetic and singing lessons with him, and dancing lessons from
a local teacher. Caroline’s suppressed appetite for education took off as she
also learned the harpsichord and sang in William’s musical performances at
small gatherings. Within a few years she was principal singer at William’s
oratorios and built such a reputation that after a performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1778 she was offered an
engagement for the Birmingham Festival. However she refused to sing for any
conductor but William and her career began to decline.
She adored her brother. But being painfully shy it’s maybe surprising she had ambitions as a concert singer. Says Richard Holmes, “She seemed like a pixie out of some German folk tale. She had an almost childlike enthusiasm, energy and sense of mischief.” It may be hard to imagine her before a large crowd, singing “I know that my redeemer liveth”. But she did it. William had liberated her from her Hanoverian bondage. Says Holmes, “Later their roles would subtly change. As William would observe to astronomer Nevil Maskelyne, it was not always self-evident which was the planet and which was the moon.”
Career change to astronomy
Now a new career beckoned. William had been captivated by astronomy for several years and had visited London optical shops in 1772 on arrival with Caroline. He began regular astronomical observations from their garden at night and started constructing his own telescopes. Unhappy at the quality of lenses available, he took the fateful decision to cast, grind and polish his own metal mirrors, or speculae.
In 1781 they moved to a new house after an ill-judged millinery
business failed. On 13 March William discovered the planet Uranus. And though
he initially mistook it for a comet, it proved the quality of his new high
performance telescope. The stunning mirror he’d ground and polished with
Caroline for his 7-foot reflector was key to securing him royal patronage. The
duo gave their last concert performance in 1782 after a huge career advance - William
had accepted the position of court astronomer to King George III.
Recording observations and sweeping the heavens
Caroline, expected to act as her brother’s assistant,
was at first reluctant. She missed the culture of Bath, and disliked their
house at Datchet, near Windsor. But she gradually grew into the new role and
spent many hours polishing mirrors and mounting telescopes to maximise the
light captured. She copied astronomical catalogues and would work all night
recording William’s observations. She was asked to ‘sweep’ the sky looking for
interesting objects. In 1782 she began her first notebook, writing at the start
“This is what I call the Bills and Records of my Comets”, “Comets and Letters”,
and “Books of Observations” - now with London’s Royal Astronomical Society.
In February 1783 she made her first discovery - a nebula not included in the accepted Messier catalogue. The same night she independently discovered Messier 110 (New General Catalogue 205). William then built a comet-searching telescope with huge light gathering power for Caroline. He began to search for nebulae himself, relegating his sister to a ladder on his 20-foot reflector. Shouting down his observations she’d record them. The reference was Flamsteed’s constellation based catalogue, not really suited to the task. So Caroline created her own catalogue organised by north polar distance. Next day she’d consult her notes to write them up formally, calling it ‘minding the heavens’.
Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal
Huge telescope projects
At the time there was huge excitement about the new discoveries in astronomy and a growing sense of the scale of the universe and its process of continuous creation. Europe’s leading rulers used sharp elbows competing to buy a Herschel telescope. William was a slave driver to Caroline who once badly injured her leg falling from his telescope. In 1785 he planned a monster 40-foot version with a huge four foot mirror. Building and running costs of £2000 had to be found. Royal Society President Sir Joseph Banks persuaded the King to fund the project. A true diplomatic achievement by Banks, the grant was announced in 1785.
The Herschels moved again, to a house, ‘The Grove’, on the edge of the then village of Slough. It was secluded, and the air was usually clear. But the main benefits were rapid communication with London and Astronomer Royal Maskelyne’s observatory at Greenwich. It was also near the King at Windsor, a constant reminder of the expectations of the royal patron. Caroline claimed some stables with haylofts for herself, creating a bedroom and writing room, with a flat roof she could use for her observations. She called it her ‘cottage’. Celebrated figures visited ‘The Grove’ including friends like Maskelyne and William Watson, with new Royal Society fans like Charles Burney. Some Americans, notably future President John Adams, also stopped by.
Discovering her first comet
On 3rd July 1786 William and brother Alex
left Slough for Germany. On her own at last, Caroline started a ‘Book of Work
Done’ and began filling it with astronomical observations. The daytime drudgery
of calculation gave way to palpable excitement. On 1st August she wrote “I saw an object which I believe will prove
tomorrow night to be a Comet”. Next night “…the object of last night IS A COMET”. Too excited to sleep she
wrote to the Royal Society, and following a few cloudy nights, on August 5th
she continued, “The night was tolerably
fine and I SAW THE COMET”. Next day Charles Blagden and Sir Joseph Banks,
with MP Lord Palmerston, all descended on her and saw it for themselves. Her
find was published by the Royal Society.
Maskelyne praised her, patriotically recruiting
Caroline into Britain’s astronomy ranks. Alexander Aubert realised the personal
significance for her. “I wish you joy most sincerely of the discovery…You have
immortalised your name”. As Holmes points out “The idea of a female astronomer
intrigued people. When William returned from Germany ten days later, on 16th
August, he found Caroline had become something of a celebrity”. The Herschels
were summoned to Windsor but Caroline didn’t go. She avoided the Court if
possible.
Royal patronage turns sour
But while Caroline remembered 1786-88 as the ‘time of
her life’, with exciting work backed by Maskelyne, Banks and the King, problems
lay ahead. The huge telescope project was running well over budget with gantry
costs underestimated and £500 wasted on a faulty mirror. And though telescope
sales were going well, they needed a big cash injection to avoid bankruptcy.
Banks suggested a Royal Telescope Garden Party. An array of royals and
dignitaries duly arrived at The Grove in August 1787. Banks then wrote to the
King on William’s behalf suggesting £1400 plus £50 annually for Caroline. George
agreed £2000 including Caroline’s salary, but with a bad grace. He felt he’d
been set up and on no account would offer a penny more.
The Herschels took this badly and considered abandoning the whole project. Caroline called the expenses stipulations ‘ungracious’. She indignantly exclaimed “Oh! How degraded I felt even for myself.” But they had their grant, spectacular for the time. And Caroline got her salary as she proudly noted. Banks and Watson wrote soothing letters. Astronomy’s future was at stake, and work on the 40 foot model resumed, but relations with Windsor never really recovered.
Brother's late marriage
Next year William married a wealthy widow, Mary Pitt. It severely disturbed his relationship with Caroline, who would have no further control of social or business accounts. She lost her household status and the observatory and workroom keys, and moved out of the house. Caroline destroyed her journals from 1788-98 but her prickly sense of independence was clearly hurt by events. In fact she became more independent of William and was recognised widely for her solo efforts.
While continuing to work with her brother Caroline
discovered more comets herself. She spent 20 months recalculating
systematically the celestial list. Her Catalogue
of Stars was published by the Royal Society in 1798. She was closely
attached to her nephew, John, who later enlarged and renamed it the New General
Catalogue. Many non-stellar objects are still identified by their NGC number. In
August 1797 she discovered her last comet, the only one without optical
aid. And in 1799 she spent a week with
Nevil Maskelyne and his family at Greenwich as her burgeoning reputation spread
internationally.
Late return to Hanover
In 1822 at the age of 84 her brother William died. Caroline, 72 years old and totally grief-stricken, immediately moved back to Hanover. Friends and colleagues like Maskelyne, Banks and Lind had by then all died. Caroline carried on working on the catalogue but with less intensity. She continued her astronomical studies though not her observations - Hanover’s skyline offered no clear field of vision.
In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society
presented her with their Gold Medal. She aided her polymath nephew John in his work
(he took over the observations at Slough and after a brilliant career was later buried next to Darwin in
Westminster Abbey). In 1846 age 96, she received a Gold Medal for Science from
the King of Prussia.
After writing her memoirs Caroline Herschel died
peacefully on 9th January 1848 in Hanover. She is commemorated in
the periodic comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet and in asteroid 281 Lucretia, her
second name. The open clusters NGC 2360 (Caroline’s Cluster) and NGC 7789
(Caroline’s Rose) are named in her honour as is the moon crater C. Herschel. On
6th November 2020 a satellite named after her (NuSat 10 or
“Caroline”, COSPAR 2020-079B) was launched into space.
Caroline Herschel's place in history
Caroline’s career and achievements were astonishing, not just for the time but for any time. From an uneducated, lower class and highly restricted background in provincial Hanover, nothing was expected from her bar household chores. She was stunted, half blind and pockmarked. But she came to another country, learned a new language, educated herself and built a musical career from scratch. Working with her brother she then switched to astronomy where her application and determination were legendary.
Caroline Herschel, shy and self-effacing, had a
laconic wit that people who knew her grew to appreciate. She had no time for
gossip or ‘chit chat’. She developed a strong sense of independence and found
it hard to make friends. But by the end of the 18th century she’d
earned the respect and friendship of many leading figures of the Enlightenment.
Females in science were a scarce species, and she had to break down this
barrier to be taken seriously. But her hugely valuable work toward today's understanding of a ‘biological’ universe, and its ramifications across the
whole field of knowledge, is without parallel.
The two main sources here are both excellent:
Richard Holmes (2009) The Age of Wonder, Harper Press, and
Michael Hoskin (2011) Discoverers of the Universe, Princeton
I am profoundly grateful for the help from both these
authors’ work
