William Herschel

William Herschel was a German-born British astronomer and composer, who is widely credited as the founder of sidereal astronomy for observing the heavenly bodies. He found the planet Uranus and its two moons, and formulated a theory of stellar evolution. He was knighted in 1816. William Herschel was born on 15 November 1738, in Hanover, Germany, as the fourth child of Issak and Anna Herschel. His father was a musician and a member of the Hanoverian Guard. William learned music and mathematics from his father and became a proficient organist and violinist. In 1757, at the age of 19, he moved to England to pursue a career in music. He worked as a teacher, organist, and director of various musical ensembles. He also composed several symphonies, concertos, and chamber works. Herschel developed an interest in astronomy after reading books on the subject. He began to make his own telescopes and lenses, and soon became an expert in optical instruments. He built a 40-foot telescope that was the largest in the world at that time. Herschel made many discoveries and contributions to astronomy. He discovered the planet Uranus in 1781, which was the first planet to be found since ancient times. He also discovered two of its moons, Titania and Oberon, as well as two moons of Saturn, Enceladus and Mimas. He catalogued thousands of stars, nebulae, and galaxies, and showed that many nebulae were actually clusters of stars. He proposed that stars were born from nebulae and evolved over time. He also discovered infrared radiation by using a prism and a thermometer. Herschel was honored for his achievements by King George III, who appointed him as his personal astronomer. He was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and received its Copley Medal. He founded the Royal Astronomical Society in 1820 and became its first president. Herschel married Mary Baldwin in 1788 and had one son, John Herschel, who also became a famous astronomer. Herschel died of pneumonia on 25 August 1822, at the age of 83. He was buried in St Laurence's Church in Slough. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest astronomers of all time.