The Herschel Society

The home of Sir William Herschel, in Bath, England, has been purchased by the William Herschel Society, an organization seeking to create a museum to the 18th and 19th century astronomer. Included will be many items of Herschel memorabilia. President of the group is Patrick Moore, and its patron is Caroline Herschel. A fund drive to raise 30,000 British pounds is now in progress. The society seeks to have a “Friends of Herschel House” formed in the United States as a non-profit, IRS-registered charity to enable persons who wish to contribute to the project to make deductible contributions.

The Society’s journal, called the Speculum, is published 3 times a year. Richard Phillips is the current editor. The William Herschel Society has started a Herschel Discussion Group in collabration with the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI). This meets at 10:30 a.m. on the second Saturday of every month in the premises of the BRSLI, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath. Its aim is to pursue any topic which would have been of interest to the Herschel family.

The Society also organises a public lecture in Bath every year on the Saturday closest to the 13 March (the date when William discovered Uranus here). In 2000, Randii Wesson is coming over from the USA to talk about the Infra-red Universe as observed from Space on 11 March. This is to commemorate William’s discovery of infra-red radiation in 1800. The 250th birthday of Caroline, his sister, happens this year too.

Last year’s (2001) lecture was given by Dominique Proust, the French astronomer from Meudon Observatory (Paris) who has recorded Herschel’s music on a CD (available through the Museum shop at Bath U.K.).

The Herschel Society is a registered charity in Great Britain. Write to:

The Secretary,
The William Herschel Society
19, New King Street
BATH
BA1 2BL

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