VISITORS TO THE HERSCHELS BETWEEN 1777 AND 1822.

This paper summarizes the results of the first comprehensive study of the many people who visited William and Caroline Herschel at their homes in Bath, Datchet, Clay Hall and Slough. It covers the period from 1777 to William’s death in 1822. The research is based on various documents, notably the three Visitors’ Books written by Caroline and others. The investigation resulted in a large dataset that was statistically analyzed. It contains information about the times and places of the visits, as well as biographical data on the guests, and their professions, status and nationalities. A particular focus is on visits by astronomers, physicists and musicians, and the observations that they made with Herschel’s telescopes. This study provides an insight into scientific life at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in which the Herschels played an important role due to their astronomical discoveries, innovative instruments and new observing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]