William Herschel was born on 15 November 1738 in Hanover. A German-born British astronomer and composer, Herschel moved to England as a young musician and took up astronomy as a passion, building his own telescopes of exceptional quality. In 1781 he discovered the planet Uranus, the first planet found with a telescope, which made him famous and earned him the patronage of King George III. He also discovered two moons each of Uranus and Saturn, catalogued thousands of nebulae and star clusters, and discovered infrared radiation. His sister Caroline Herschel assisted him and became a distinguished astronomer, and his son John followed in his footsteps.
Before and after
- 8 May 1737Birth of Edward Gibbon
- from 1738 to 1861Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
- from 10 May 1738 to 1 January 1740Nadir Shah's invasion of India
- 24 May 1738Birth of George III of Great Britain
- 15 November 1738Birth of William Herschel
- 2 June 1739Construction of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- from 22 October 1739 to 18 October 1748War of Jenkins' Ear
- 1740Rise of Hasidic Judaism
- from 1740 to 1763Silesian Wars
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The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.