John Herschel

Events

3

Episodes

4

Years

1787–1852

Every event in Historedia whose sources name John Herschel, with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

1. Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon

   1787

   Role: Suggested the names Titania and Oberon in 1852

   1. 111 January 1787 · Datchet (legacy location; not confirmed by supplied passages)Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon

      William Herschel discovered Uranus's two largest moons, Titania and Oberon, on the same night in January 1787.

   2. 21848–1852 · Nomenclature and designations assigned after discoveryNaming and later designations

      The moons remained unnamed until 1848 designations and John Herschel's 1852 Shakespearean names.

2. John Herschel discovers the open cluster NGC 3603

   1834

   Role: Astronomer

   1. 314 March 1834 · Cape of Good Hope, during Herschel's South African visitObservation of NGC 3603

      Herschel observed NGC 3603 on 14 March 1834 during his visit to South Africa, tentatively describing it as a remarkable object, perhaps a globular cluster.

3. William Lassell discovers Ariel and Umbriel, moons of Uranus

   1852

   Role: Name Suggester

   1. 41852 · unknownNaming by John Herschel

      John Herschel suggested the names Ariel and Umbriel in 1852 at Lassell's request, though the origin of the names is uncertain.

Sources

1. Oberon (moon) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
2. NGC 3603 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-23
3. John Herschel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-04
4. Umbriel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-03
5. Ariel (moon) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-02