The Astronomer William Herschel: A Short Biography

By Doug West

Do you want to learn about William Herschel but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this short and concise book “The Astronomer William Herschel: A Short Biography” is for you!!
During William Herschel’s long and productive life, he had many interesting adventures and made many contributions to the science of astronomy, including the following:
•Discovered the planet Uranus,
•Observed and catalogued hundreds of double stars,
•Observed and cataloged some 2,500 nebulae,
•Personal astronomer to King George III of Great Britain,
•Trained his sister Caroline Herschel as an astronomer,
•Supervised the construction of a 40-foot telescope. The largest in the world at its time,
•Discovered infrared radiation,
•And much more...
The book “The Astronomer William Herschel: A Short Biography” gives a brief look at the life and times of William Herschel. To illustrate the story of his life there are numerous pictures of the people, places, and events that were part of the life of this astronomer. In addition, the book contains: a list of reference books for further reading, a timeline of Mr. Herschel’s life and events of that period of history, and a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.
Pick up your copy today by clicking the BUY button!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Jan 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215520727

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

The Astronomer William Herschel

A Short Biography

By Doug West, Ph.D.

C&D Publications

The Astronomer William Herschel

A Short Biography

By Doug West, Ph.D.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2023 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

For my grandson Nathaniel.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Early Years

Chapter 2 – The Making of a Professional Astronomer

Chapter 3 – The Discovery of the Planet Uranus

Chapter 4 – The 40-Foot Telescope

Chapter 5 – Study of the Sun and the Discovery of Infrared Radiation

Chapter 6 – Final Years and Legacy

Timeline of the Life and Times of William Herschel

Biographical Sketches

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books in the 30 Minute Book Series

Preface

Welcome to the book, The Astronomer William Herschel: A Short Biography. This book is volume 65 of the 30 Minute Book Series, and as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book should take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing biography of William Herschel, you may want to know about his life and times. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events in his life, and a section of the book titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book. In the text, those individuals who are in one of the biographical sketches will have their name in bold print the first time they appear in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy your time reading about this great astronomer.

Doug West

January 2023

Introduction

As a young man, William Herschel and his older brother Jacob were warned by their father to leave their native Hanover and flee for the relative safety of England. The French were invading that part of what is now Germany, and even the musicians in the Hanoverian Guard were not safe. Heeding their father’s warning, the pair journeyed to England, arriving virtually penniless. The two young men quickly began to look for work as musicians. Their father had taught them how to play a variety of musical instruments from the time they were old enough to hold them.

After the French had left their hometown of Hanover, Jacob returned home; however, William dared not. He had left the military band without a formal release and was considered a deserter, thus dire consequences awaited him if he returned home. Resolved to make his way in England, after several lean years, William became a successful music teacher and orchestra conductor in the resort town of Bath, England.

As he rode about the English countryside to his students’ homes in the evenings, he spent many hours enjoying the parade of stars and planets above him in the coal dark skies. As well as teaching his boys to become competent musicians, their father had introduced them to the wonders of the night sky, an