John Frederick William Herschel
1792 – 1871 · aged 79
English polymath, mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and photographer (1792–1871)
- Born
- 7 Mar 1792 · Slough
- Died
- 11 May 1871 · Hawkhurst
Life timeline
Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.
- 7 Mar 1792BornBorn in Slough
- 1813AwardFellow of the Royal Society
- 1821AwardCopley Medal
- 1823AwardRoyal Society Bakerian Medal
- 1825AwardLalande Prize
- 1826AwardGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
- 1827 – 1829RolePresident of the Royal Astronomical Society
- 1832AwardFellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1833AwardRoyal Medal
- 1839 – 1841RolePresident of the Royal Astronomical Society
- 1842 – 1843RoleRector of Marischal College, Aberdeen
- 1845 – 1846RolePresident of the British Science Association
- 1847AwardCopley Medal
- 1847 – 1849RolePresident of the Royal Astronomical Society
- 1850 – 1855RoleMaster of the Mint
- 11 May 1871DiedDied in Hawkhurst
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Meanwhile in the world
Major world events during their lifetime (1792 – 1871).
- 1812 – 1815War of 1812
- 1814 – 1815Congress of Vienna
- 1853 – 1856Crimean War
- 1857 – 1858Indian Rebellion of 1857
- 1870 – 1871Franco-Prussian War
Biography
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical work.
Herschel originated the use of the Julian day system in astronomy. He named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus – the seventh planet, discovered by his father Sir William Herschel. He made many contributions to the science of photography, and investigated colour blindness and the chemical power of ultraviolet rays. His Preliminary Discourse (1831), which advocated an inductive approach to scientific experiment and theory-building, was an important contribution to the philosophy of science.
Text from the Wikipedia article John Herschel, CC BY-SA 4.0
About this information
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