Herschel Caroline Lucretia

Born in Germany in a family of musicians, Caroline Herschel saw her growth interrupted by typhus (she measured only 1.40 meters [4 feet 10 inches]), bringing her family to believe that she would never marry. She probably received a musical education and participated in philosophical discussions, no doubt favored by his father and brothers. In her father’s absence, and even more after the death of the latter in 1767, her mother confined her to housework and cooking. In 1772, however, she was called to England by her favorite brother, William (1738-1822), who was aware of the intolerable iron rule imposed on her by their mother and two other brothers. William, who had established himself at Bath as a musician in 1757, gave her singing lessons and made her the prima donna of his oratorios. He also taught her mathematics; soon his passion for astronomy was such that it became detrimental to his musical career. Caroline then assisted him in his nocturnal observations and mirror polishing, and copied catalogs and tables for him. In 1781, William, who had discovered the planet Uranus, was pensioned by King George III. He could then give up the music and devote himself entirely to astronomy.

William and Caroline settled near Windsor Castle and installed an observatory at Slough, fitted with increasingly large mirror telescopes. Caroline attended his brother in his observations and calculations. But she also began to observe by herself, through a small telescope that William had given to her. She discovered eight comets and several nebulae from 1786 to 1797.  In 1787, the king bestowed upon her an annual pension as assistant to William, making her the first woman in the world remunerated for scientific work. From 1797, she established a star catalog containing 560 items. At William’s death in 1822, she returned to Germany and settled in Hanover. In 1828, she completed the catalog of nebulae and star clusters undertaken by his brother. Now a fully recognized astronomer, she received several important awards and was the first woman elected to the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1846, when she was 96, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) brought her the gold medal of science sent by the King of Prussia. She died in Hanover the following year.