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Table of Contents
John Herschel was a brilliant chemist, inventor, astronomer, and polymath. He is best known as the first person to produce a photograph on a glass plate and as the inventor of the blueprint.
See the fact file below for more information on the John Herschel or alternatively, you can download our 24-page John Herschel worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
EARLY LIFE
- John Frederick William Herschel was the son of astronomer William Herschel and Mary Baldwin.
- He was born in Slough, Buckinghamshire, on March 7, 1792.
- As a child, he helped with the work of his father and aunt, Caroline Herschel, who was also an astronomer.
- He was briefly educated at Eton College when he was 8, and he then transferred to local schools and private tutors.
- In 1809, he started studying at the University of Cambridge, where he met Charles Babbage and George Peacock.
- In 1812, the trio founded the Analytical Society of Cambridge, which was aimed at using Leibnizβs more efficient calculus notation in preference to Newtonβs notation.
- In 1813, he graduated with a degree in mathematics and was a Senior Wrangler of his class.
- He was elected as a fellow of St. Johnβs College, Cambridge, upon his graduation.
CAREER
- In 1816, he became an assistant to his father, who was still conducting astronomical research. John also restored his fatherβs favorite telescope, an 18-inch long reflecting telescope with a focal length of 20 feet.
- At age 28, he helped found the Royal Astronomical Society and became itβs elected vice president.
- He re-observed the double stars that his father cataloged, noting that the movement of the pairs of stars about each other presented the best evidence about the gravitational forces that operate in the universe.
- John also helped advance his fatherβs efforts to deduce the distance of a star from the earth by measuring the parallax of the star.
- With James South, he was able to use refined instruments that were best suited for his work.
- They were able to compile a catalog from their works between 1821 and 1823, which was later published in the Philosophical Transactions in 1824.
- This earned them the Royal Astronomical Societyβs Gold Medal and the Lalande Prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1825.
- From 1824 to 1827, John Herschel served as the secretary of the Royal Society.
- In 1825, John invented an instrument that could measure how much heating power certain radiation has. This instrument is known as the actinometer, which became important in the development of photochemistry.
- John was elected President of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1827.
- In 1833, he published a revised and extended version of his fatherβs catalog from the observations he carried out in their home, known as the Observatory House.
- In November 1833, John brought his family to Feldhausen at Cape Town, where he spent four years observing the southern skies.
- John used a large reflecting telescope similar to his fatherβs favorite and a refracting telescope to observe double stars.
- By 1838, he already had a record of the locations of 68,948 stars and long catalogs of double stars and nebulae.
- John also wrote numerous details of Orionβs Great Nebula, as well as the Magellanic Clouds and some of Saturnβs satellites.
- Herschel was the first to establish a telescopic observatory in the earthβs southern hemisphere.
- He made a complete survey of the earthβs heavens.
- John made careful observations of Halleyβs Comet when it returned.
- The comet orbits the sun in a very elliptical orbit. He was able to determine that the sun exerts a force on the comet, repelling the comet from its surface. His observation was the first indication of what is now known as the solar wind.
- John also learned that gas evaporates from Halleyβs Comet.
- When he returned to Europe in 1838, he was made a baronet, and the scientific world lionized him.
- In 1839, Herschel discovered that silver halides used to capture images can be reacted with sodium thiosulfate to make the photos entirely resistant to further reactions with light, thus making the image permanent.
- John was the first to define photographs as either positives or negatives. He was also the first to imprint images on glass, which were prepared by depositing a sensitive film on the glass.
- Herschel is also known for inventing the cyanotype. It is a photographic printing process that enabled architects and engineers to produce blueprints of the designs they created.
- John invented the cyanotype after finding out that iron salts were sensitive to light. He coated paper with an iron salt solution and dried the paper in darkness. The image or object to be copied was placed on the iron-salt coated paper and set for 15 minutes under bright sunlight. The reaction produced a white image on a blue background.
- In the 1940s, John Herschel worked on a book intended for the educated layman. It was entitled Outlines of Astronomy. The book was very successful and was published in multiple editions.
- In his Results of Astronomical Observation, Made During the Years 1834-38 at the Cape of Good Hope, which was published in 1847, he compiled charts and catalogs of the southern-sky star clusters and nebulae. Also included in the book is a catalog presenting the relative positions and magnitudes of double stars in the southern hemisphere and Johnβs observations on the deviations and relative brightness of the stars.
DEATH AND LEGACY
- The honors that John Herschel received throughout his career include the following:
- Copley Medal in 1821 for his contributions in the development of mathematical analysis
- Lalande Medal, awarded in 1825 for the catalog of double stars he made
- Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society given in 1826 for the same catalog
- Knighthood in 1831, making him Sir John Herschel
- Another Gold Medal from RAS in 1836
- Two Royal Medals received in 1836 and 1840 for his work on double star orbits and for his work on photography
- Another Copley Medal given in 1847 for completing a telescopic survey of the stars of the Southern Hemisphere
- John Herschel married Margaret Brodie Stewart on March 3, 1829, in Edinburgh. They had 12 children, and three of them also made significant scientific contributions.
- On May 11, 1871, at the age of 79, John died at his house in Kent.
Full honors were given to him during his burial at the Nave of Westminster Abbey. - Mount Herschel in Antarctica and the moon’s crater, J. Herschel, were both named after him. The village of Herschel located in Saskatchewan, Canada, and a girlsβ school in Cape Town were also named in honor of John Herschel.
John Herschel Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the John Herschel across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use John Herschel worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about John Herschel who was a brilliant chemist, inventor, astronomer, and polymath. He is best known as the first person to produce a photograph on a glass plate and as the inventor of the blueprint.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- John Herschel Facts
- Herschel’s Activity
- Describing Pictures
- Truth Box
- What Do You Mean?
- Medal of Honor
- Photo Line
- Which Herschel?
- John’s Stars
- Scientific Camera
- Math Trio
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Link will appear as John Herschel Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 29, 2020
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