HERSCHEL, CAROLINE LUCRETIA, sister of the astronomer, sir William Ilerschel (q.v.), b. Mar., 1750, lived in Hanover till 1772, when she came to England to live with her brother at Bath. When William turned astronomer, she became his constant helper; and on his being appointed private astronomer to George III., she acted as his assistant. doing all the duties of an assistant astronomer, and in that character receiving a small salary from the king. While discharging her duties in this position, she found time for a series of independent observations with a small Newtonian telescope, made for her by her brother. Her special business was to sweep the heavens for comets, seven of which she discovered, in regard to five of which she has the credit of priority of discovery; and several remarkable nebnlie and clusters of stars included in William's catalogues were described from her original observations. In 1798 she published, with an intro
duction by her brother, A Catalogue of Stars taken from Mr. Flamsteeers Observations, etc. This valuable work was published at the expense of the royal society, and con tained 561 stars omitted in the British catalogue. She lived with her brother during the whole of-his career, sharing his labors and distinctions, and on his•tleath returned to her native country: She Wits (11611'72 years of age, but she lived t6 be 98, retaining all het faculties to the last. In her last days, she was not idle. In 1828 the royal society conferred on her their gold medal for completing the catalogne of nebnite and clusters of stars observed by her brother. She was afterwards chosen an honorary member of the royal society. Miss Herschel died in 1848, after an uncommonly long and useful life. See her 1[enwir and Correspondence (1876).