Historedia
Person

William Herschel

Events
4
Episodes
6
Years
1786–1789

Every event in Historedia whose sources name William 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. Caroline Herschel's Comet Discovery

    1786

    Role: Astronomer and Caroline's brother whose telescope was used

    1. 1 August 1786 · Unresolved siteAugust 1786 Comet Discovery

      Caroline Herschel discovered a comet on 1 August 1786 using her brother's telescope while he was away.

  2. Publication of Herschel's Catalogue of Nebulae

    1786

    Role: Astronomer and primary author

    1. 1786 · UnspecifiedPublication of First Catalogue

      Herschel published his first major catalogue of nebulae and star clusters in 1786.

  3. Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon

    1787

    Role: Discoverer of Titania and Oberon

    1. 11 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. 1848–1852 · Nomenclature and designations assigned after discoveryNaming and later designations

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

  4. Discovery of Enceladus by William Herschel

    1789

    Role: discoverer

    1. 1789 · Observatory House, Slough, EnglandFirst Use of the 40-Foot Telescope

      The discovery coincided with the first operational use of Herschel's 40-foot telescope, the largest in the world at the time.

    2. 28 August 1789 · Observatory House, Slough, EnglandDiscovery of Enceladus

      William Herschel first observed Saturn's moon Enceladus on 28 August 1789 using his newly completed 40-foot telescope.

Sources

  1. Caroline Herschel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-04
  2. William Herschel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
  3. Oberon (moon) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
  4. Titania (moon) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-11
  5. Enceladus Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-28