Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH (March 7, 1792–May 11, 1871) was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor. He was the son of astronomer Sir William Herschel and the father of 12 children. Herschel originated the use of the Julian day system in astronomy. He named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus. He made many contributions to the science of photography, and investigated colour blindness and the chemical power of ultraviolet rays. Herschel was born in Slough, Berkshire, and studied at Eton College and St John's College, Cambridge. He graduated as Senior wrangler in 1813. It was during his time as an undergraduate, that he became friends with Charles Babbage and George Peacock. He took up astronomy in 1816, building a reflecting telescope with a mirror 18 inches in diameter and with a 20-foot focal length. Between 1821 and 1823 he re-examined, with James South, the double stars catalogued by his father. For this work he was presented in 1826 with the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (which he won again in 1836), and with the Lalande Medal of the French Institute in 1825, while in 1821 the Royal Society bestowed upon him the Copley Medal for his mathematical contributions to their Transactions. He was made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order in 1831.
an agnostic hymn
Oh! not the unreasoning God for me,
Foreseeing, knowing all
That in the wondrous world he ...[read poem]
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Foreseeing, knowing all
That in the wondrous world he ...
tick! tick! tick!
(occasioned by an "irregular ode to an old Clock", by Lady ---)
"Mine eyes are dim with ...[read poem]
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"Mine eyes are dim with ...
what did you do on your weekend in vancouver?
Walked with the traffic-stream over a high
humming bridge: airborne
before a strange...[read poem]
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humming bridge: airborne
before a strange...
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