Caroline Herschel
German-British astronomer (1750-1848) · Germany · Scientists · Died at 97
Caroline Herschel is read about 264 times a day, in 65 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?She found comets with her own eyes and became the first woman in Britain paid to do science - not as a helper, but on the government books.
Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
40ftTelMmrCorrsopCarolineHerschel
An account of a new comet. By Miss Caroline Herschel. Read at the Royal Society, Nov. 9, 1786. Fleuron T018946-1
Bath monuments August 2016 49
Caroline Herschel 2.jpg?width=1200)
Caroline Herschel banner designed by Mary Lowndes (1908)
Caroline Herschel engraving Women Worth Emulating 0047
Caroline Herschel's telescope 2025
Caroline Herschel's telescopeIn their own words 4
My dear nephew was only in his sixth year when I came to be detached from the family circle.
With saddened heart but unflagging determination she continued to work for her brother, but saw his domestic happiness pass into other keeping.
In my brother's absence from home, I was, of course, left solely to amuse myself with my own thoughts, which were anything but cheerful.
Awards
Family
Parents
Brothers and sisters
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.
Correct this familyAbout this person
Born in Hanover in 1750, Caroline Herschel followed her brother William to England and began as his assistant in astronomy, grinding mirrors and logging observations. But she swept the sky herself and discovered several comets, including one that still carries her name: 35P/Herschel-Rigollet. In 1787 she became the first woman to draw a salary as a scientist and the first to hold a government position in England. She published in the Philosophical Transactions, won the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal in 1828, and in 1835 became its first female honorary member alongside Mary Somerville. The King of Prussia sent her a gold medal on her 96th birthday in 1846. She died two years later in Hanover, having lived long enough to see the world catch up, barely, to what she had done.
Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.