A Calendar of the Correspondence of Sir John Herschel

Sir John Herschel (1792‐1871) was the only son of Sir William Herschel, the musician and, originally, amateur astronomer. Sir John continued his father’s work studying double stars and nebulae; he then went to the Cape of Good Hope and mapped the stars of the Southern Hemisphere. He also made contributions to geophysics and to photography. For five years he was Master of the Mint. In this long, productive and interesting life he corresponded with many people on a wide range of professional and personal topics. A total of 14,815 letters to and from Sir John remain, held in about 75...