Birth of Frederick William Herschel
Birth of Frederick William Herschel
Astronomer profile · World History Database
William Herschel
William Herschel was a pioneering observational astronomer and telescope maker. In 1781 he discovered Uranus, the first planet found with a telescope in the modern era, extending the known Solar System beyond Saturn.
Why William Herschel matters in astronomy
Herschel also carried out extensive surveys of stars, double stars and nebulae. His work helped shift astronomy toward systematic investigation of the structure and scale of the wider universe.
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Herschel, WilliamName2, Name1 format
William Herschel timeline in the database
Messier Catalogue
The resolving power of the Herschel telescopes revealed that the nebulae in the Messier catalogue were clusters of stars
Telescope
Herschel constructs his first large telescope
Copley Medal
Herschel is awarded the Copley Medal and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Discovery of Georgium Sidus
Calls the new planet the Georgian star (Georgium sidus) after King George III
Discovery of Uranus
Calls the new planet the Georgian star (Georgium sidus) after King George III
Royal Society
Herschel is awarded the Copley Medal and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Discovery of Uranus
Discovers Uranus using a home made telescope from his back garden in Bath
Discovery of Globular Clusters
William Herschel begins a survey program in 1782 using larger telescopes and was able to resolve the stars in all 33 of the known globular clusters. When William Herschel began his comprehensive survey of the sky using large telescopes in 1782 there were 34 known globular clusters. Herschel discovered another 36 himself and was the first to resolve virtually all of them into stars
Kings Astronomer
Appointed "The King's Astronomer"
King's Astronomer
Appoined King's Astronomer
Discovery of Andromeda Galaxy
Herschel observes a faint reddish hue in the core region of Andromeda and believes Andromeda to be the nearest of all the "great nebulae", and based on the color and magnitude of the nebula, incorrectly guesses that it is no more than 2,000 times the distance of Sirius
Discovery of Uranus
Produces a diagram of the shape of the Galaxy with the Solar System close to the centre
Uranus
The first attempt to describe the shape of the Milky Way and the position of the Sun within it is carried out by William Herschel carefully counting the number of stars in different regions of the sky
Early Distance Estimate for Andromeda
Notes the appearance of the Andromeda nebula and attempts an early estimate of its distance, still treating it as a nearby great nebula.
Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
The Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars was first published in 1786 by William Herschel in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Publication of "Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars"
Discovery of Nebulae
The Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars is published
Discovery of Oberon
Herschel discovers a new moon of Uranus, Oberon
Discovery of Titania
Herschel discovers a new moon of Uranus, Titania
Marriage
William Herschel marries the widow Mary Pitt (nee Baldwin) at St Laurence's Church
Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Adds another 1,000 entries to The Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Catalogue of a Second Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Publication of "Catalogue of a Second Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars"
Discovery of Globular Clusters
In Herschels 1789 catalog of deep sky objects, his second such, he became the first to use the name globular cluster as their description. First uses the term "globular cluster" in his Catalogue of a Second Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
globular cluster
First uses the term "globular cluster" in his Catalogue of a Second Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Discovery of Enceladus
Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn, Enceladus
Discovery of Mimas
Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn, Mimas, only 250 miles in diameter
Discovery of Infrared Radiation
Herschel discovers infrared radiation in sunlight by passing it through a prism and holding a thermometer just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum
Catalogue of 500 New Nebulae
Publication of "Catalogue of 500 New Nebulae"
Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Adds another 500 entries to The Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, bringing the total to 2,500
Discovery of Nebulae
Herschel publishes catalogues of nebulae, 2,500 objects
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Guelphic Order
Made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order by the Prince Regent entitling him to the prefix Sir
Discovery of Nebulae
Herschel publishes catalogues of nebulae, 5,000 objects
Royal Astronomical Society
Appointed the first President of the Royal Astronomical Society when it was founded in 1820
Death of Frederick William Herschel
Death of Frederick William Herschel, died in his 84th year, which is the same number of years Uranus takes to orbit the Sun
Herschel Museum of Astronomy
Herschels house at 19 New King Street in Bath, Somerset where he made many telescopes and first observed Uranus, is now home to the Herschel Museum of Astronomy
Discovery of Enceladus
Herschel discovered two moons of Saturn, Mimas and Enceladus; as well as two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon, he did not give these moons their names; rather, they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, well after his death
Discovery of Mimas
Herschel discovered two moons of Saturn, Mimas and Enceladus; as well as two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon, he did not give these moons their names; rather, they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, well after his death
Discovery of Oberon
Herschel discovered two moons of Saturn, Mimas and Enceladus; as well as two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon, he did not give these moons their names; rather, they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, well after his death
Discovery of Titania
Herschel discovered two moons of Saturn, Mimas and Enceladus; as well as two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon, he did not give these moons their names; rather, they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, well after his death
Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
The Herschel 400 catalogue is a subset of William Herschel's original Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Herschel 400 Catalogue
The Herschel 400 catalogue is a subset of William Herschel's original Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
Related astronomy topics
Sources and editorial provenance
Compiled and edited by World History Database
Historical chronology compiled from the World History Database and checked against major scientific and historical reference sources.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
- Royal Museums Greenwich — History of astronomy
- Royal Museums Greenwich — History of the telescope
- NASA Science — Hubble timeline
- NASA Science — Exoplanet discovery history
- LIGO — GW150914 first gravitational-wave detection
- Event Horizon Telescope — first black-hole image
- NASA Webb — mission science and discoveries