1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frying and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Uh, and 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: today is for me a whoa Astronomy Day because I 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: love astronomy. I love talking about space and all things astronomical, 6 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: So it's a special in my wheelhouse one. But also, uh, 7 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: we're talking about a woman astronomer who really managed to 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: break the barrier of women in scientific fields way earlier 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: than you might anticipate. Uh, in part because she was 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: working alongside her brother and that sort of gave her 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: entree into the world of science and astronomy and an 12 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: equal measure though it was due to her really steadfast 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: dedication to her work. She was a very no nonsense 14 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: woman and completely focused. Uh. And as a consequence, she 15 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: had achieved a great deal. So we're talking about Caroline 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: Lucretia Herschel, who was born on March sixteenth of seventeen 17 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: fifty and she was born in Hanover, Germany. Her parents 18 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: were Anna ills Mortzen and Isaac Herschel, and when Caroline 19 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: was born, the Herschels were already in their eighteenth year 20 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: of marriage, so they had already had a pretty large family. 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: They ended up having a total of ten children, and 22 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: Caroline was the eighth of them, although four of their 23 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: children did not live pastorally childhood, and according to family records, 24 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,199 Speaker 1: the Herschel family line had actually come from Moravia, where 25 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: they left due to their Protestant beliefs and ended up 26 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: settling in Saxony. Isaac was a musician and he played 27 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: in a military regiment. He educated his sons in music 28 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: whenever he was home, and it was during these lessons 29 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: that Caroline's older brother, Williams, started to show some natural 30 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: gifts for music. He was not only musically talented, but 31 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: he was also extremely smart and very quick to learn 32 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: in other areas of study. Also, Yeah, and one thing 33 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,279 Speaker 1: I feel like I should point out I didn't include 34 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: it in the notes when I said that he was 35 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: Isaac was able to educate his children when he was home. 36 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: Be a military musician in this context is not uh 37 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: as much of an easy ride as you may think. 38 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: These men had to travel with the troops, They were 39 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: in the trenches with the troops. They were really part 40 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: of a functioning, active military. It wasn't like they just 41 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: showed up to play trumpet before things happened, so he 42 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: really was traveling a lot. And while William was urged 43 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: into a musical career because of his natural proclivity that 44 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: exhibited itself very early on, Caroline really felt when she 45 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: looked back at their childhood. She mentions it in her 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 1: memoirs and in letters that if he had been allowed 47 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: to pursue other interests other than music, his genius and 48 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: astronomy really would have been revealed much earlier. And in 49 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: her memoirs she mentions that while her father, Isaac was 50 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: indeed devoted to music, he too was also interested in 51 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: the stars. And here's a quick excerpt from one of 52 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: her memories from childhood. She says, my father was a 53 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: great admirer of astronomy and had some knowledge of that science. 54 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: For I remember his taking me on a clear, frosty 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: night into the street to make me acquainted with several 56 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: of the most beautiful constellations, after we had been gazing 57 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: at a comment which was then visible. And I well 58 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: remember with what delight he used to assist my brother 59 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 1: William in his various contrivances in the pursuit of his 60 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 1: philosophical studies. Among which was a neatly turned four inch 61 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: globe upon which the equator and ecliptic were engraved by 62 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: my brother. Caroline was also very attached to her brother William, 63 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: who was twelve years older than she was, from the 64 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: time she was really very young. Yeah. She speaks of 65 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: him so lovingly and with great adoration. Uh in her memoirs. 66 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: It's it's easy for me to identify with because my 67 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: siblings are all much older than me, and I look 68 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: at them in prettating my oldest sister almost as a 69 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: parent figure. In it's a very similar relationship that she 70 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: had with William, especially because Isaac traveled so much. Uh. 71 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: And while Isaac wanted his children to learn music and 72 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: French and philosophy, particularly all of his children, his wife 73 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: UH and I had a really much more strict and 74 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: sensible path in mind for Caroline. When she was quite young, 75 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: it became Caroline's job to knit all of the socks 76 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 1: and stockings for her brothers, and as the male siblings 77 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: of the family pursued their musical careers, Caroline learned how 78 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: to care for a home. She really did not get 79 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: the benefit of kind of the more philosophical education in 80 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty one, Caroline got really severe typhus fever and 81 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: it nearly killed her. Even after she got better, it 82 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: took a really long time for her to regain her strength, 83 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: and she recounted having to crawl up and downstairs on 84 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: all fours for months because she was too weak to 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: walk up and down them. Uh So this illness also 86 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: pretty significantly stunted Caroline's growth. She was really diminutive even 87 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: when she was in her adulthood and not growing anymore. 88 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: She was less than five ft tall. Uh And you know, 89 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: it left her not particularly pleasing to the eye in 90 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: their opinion, And so her parents sort of came to 91 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: this conclusion that she was never really going to have 92 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: any marriage prospects, and so she should hope for a 93 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: career as a scullery made like that. That was they 94 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: were trying to be very practical. It sounds really rough 95 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: for a parent to do, particularly and to the modern era, 96 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: where you know, children are encouraged to really follow their 97 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: dreams and pursue their heart's desires. Um. But in this instance, 98 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: this meant that Caroline's mother, Anna basically doubled down on 99 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: her insistence that her daughter really needed to stick to 100 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: learning useful skills and leave the life of the mind 101 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: to her brothers. In the early seventeen sixties, Caroline's brother 102 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: William traveled to England to pursue work as a music 103 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: teacher in organist after he deserted his position with the 104 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: Hannovarian Guards. Even while he spent time in various town 105 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: was traveling far away people, the family was really hoping 106 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: that he would come back to Hanover to settle down, 107 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: and he didn't make an appearance back in Germany in 108 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty four, but it was really more than anything else, 109 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: just to tell the family that he was not coming 110 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: back to live. He was moving to England permanently, and 111 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: Caroline's memoir details this is a time of joyful reunion, 112 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: but also sadness that she was too busy with scullery work, 113 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: uh and with her first communion to really see him, 114 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: and this bittersweet knowledge that they all shared that it 115 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: would likely be quite some time before anyone in the 116 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: family was going to see him again. And in this 117 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: particular part of her memoir, she is really extremely clear 118 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: and does not hide the fact that he is her 119 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: very favorite brother. She calls him her dearest brother. So 120 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: when William left, and as we mentioned, it conflicted with 121 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: her first communion, she was really heartbroken that her goodbye 122 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: was cut short, and so she wrote this about his departure. 123 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: It's a fact on my shattered nerves. I will not 124 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: attempt to describe nor what I felt. For days and 125 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: weeks after. I wish it were possible to say what 126 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: I wished to say without feeling a new that feverish 127 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: wretchedness which accompanied my walk in the afternoon with some 128 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: of my school companions, and my black silk dress and 129 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: bouquet of artificial flowers, the same which had served my 130 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: sister on her bridal day. I could think of nothing 131 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: that on my return I should find nobody but my 132 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: disconsolate father and mother. So sad uh. She really just 133 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: adored her brother, and you know, he was like a 134 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: ray of sunshine when he came home, and knowing that 135 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: he was gone really broke her heart. And the following August, 136 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: their father, Isaac, had a seizure which left his right 137 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: side almost entirely paralyzed, and so his inability to play 138 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: or teach music at the level that he once had, 139 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: which had been his great joy, and the various problems 140 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: several of his children were having in their lives. You know. Again, 141 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: Caroline was one of many, and there were a number 142 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: of struggles happening in the family and the fact that 143 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: he had kind of as a consequence of being uh, 144 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: left with this paralysis. He couldn't do this thing that 145 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: they had been doing, which was teaching Caroline on the 146 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: slide from her mother. Uh. You know, when her mother 147 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: was not around, he would secretly be like, common, will 148 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: teach you a little bit of music. Uh, And they 149 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: just couldn't pull that off anymore with his infirm state, 150 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: and all of this sort of conspired to leave this 151 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: once boisterous man really quite depressed and suffering in his 152 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: final several years. He ended up dying on March seventeen 153 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:39,479 Speaker 1: sixty seven. While her father's attempts to offer her instruction 154 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: were cut short, Caroline did get some lessons from the 155 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: daughter of a family who lived in the same house 156 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: as rehearsals. When she was a teenager, her friend died 157 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: of consumption, which shut yet another door for education for Caroline, 158 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: and she just really abhorred the thought of life as 159 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: a maid. She really really wanted intellectual and creative emulation, 160 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,839 Speaker 1: So she was trying to figure out how she could 161 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: get a slightly higher position like that of a governess quote, 162 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: where the want of a knowledge of French would be 163 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: no objection. Yeah, she knew she was not stupid and 164 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: that she was fairly bright, but that she hadn't had 165 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 1: all the educational opportunities that would really prepare her for 166 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: a much better position than I made. But she was 167 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: just trying to think sort of practically about Okay, what 168 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: could I do that's better than this? Uh, And she 169 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: did at one point managed to convince her mother and 170 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: her brother's after her father had died, that she should 171 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: be sent for a short time to a school to 172 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: learn millinary and sewing, and she describes this as a 173 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: very happy time, although her brothers were very clear that 174 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 1: they were sending her just so she could make things 175 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: for herself, that this was not going to be a 176 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: professional um stepping stone at all. Once she returned home, however, 177 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: from this short time away where she was learning new 178 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: things and meeting new people, she really just fell back 179 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: into the same patterns of you know, constant chores and 180 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: schedule and drudgery that she so despised. That changed when 181 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: the family got a letter from William in the fall 182 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy one. In this letter, he proposed that 183 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: Caroline come to live with him and service as housekeeper 184 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: and also as a singer to accompany him in concerts. 185 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: He proposed a two year trial and said that if 186 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: it didn't work out, he would send her back. And 187 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: Caroline was so super excited by this prospect that even 188 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: before it was all approved by her mother and the 189 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 1: rest of the family, she started to practice singing in 190 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: secret um so that William had actually asked another of 191 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: their brothers who was musically skilled, to tutor her. But 192 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: there were some siblings skirmishes that really made that fall apart. 193 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: Her brother kind of made fun of her and she 194 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: didn't like it, so she just practiced on her own. 195 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,680 Speaker 1: And she also just in trying to lay the groundwork 196 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:57,560 Speaker 1: so that they would have no excuse to keep her. 197 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: She knitted enough box and stocking so the whole family 198 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: would be covered for at least two years. She was 199 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: really trying to make it as easy as possible to 200 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: make her case to go. In the end, when William 201 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: went to Germany to get Caroline, he also gave their 202 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: mother a small annuity which she could use to hire 203 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: some help to replace Caroline's work around the house. Yeah, 204 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: I mean they were in effect losing a maid as well. 205 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 1: So I feel though, like I should note that while 206 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: Caroline really hated the idea of being a maid, she 207 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: didn't seem to hate her mother. Um and this could 208 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: just be one of those cases of wording, but when 209 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: she talks about leaving Hanover, she refers to her as 210 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: her dear mother and the difficulty of leaving her. So 211 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: I think she did love her mother and and have 212 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: you know, positive feelings for her as much as she 213 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: sort of hated the ideas that her mother had for 214 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: her life. So Caroline and Williams set out for England together, 215 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: and in Caroline's uh memoirs, she describes this trip at 216 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: great length and with lots of details, and she talks 217 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: about all the stages of the journey and all the 218 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 1: trials and discomfort that they often encountered because travel was 219 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 1: extremely difficult. Um. William's journal, on the other hand, just 220 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: says August sixteen, seventeen seventy two, set off on my 221 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: return to England and company with my sister. That just 222 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: cracked me up when I found it in her in 223 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 1: her memoir, it was it's so funny, So what's Caroline 224 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: and William got to England. Caroline did indeed, learned to 225 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 1: sing and she developed her soprano voice so she could 226 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 1: accompany her organist brother and performances. She also took two 227 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: or three lessons a day from her brother, because remember 228 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: at this point he was pretty successful music teacher. But 229 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 1: that was not the only thing that William was up 230 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: to in Bath. While he was successful in music, he'd 231 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: already turned his interest to science. He had astronomy students 232 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: as well as music students, and he had been writing 233 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: scientific papers for the Bath Philosophical Society. Uh, there's part 234 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: of me that unders if this is not why he 235 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,079 Speaker 1: was like, I'm never coming back to Germany, Like he 236 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: knew he would be kind of locked into the music 237 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: career there, and he had already started to toy with 238 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 1: this really significant career change. And Caroline arrived in the 239 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 1: midst of William kind of making this transition in his life. 240 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: And so for her, going from a life of repetition 241 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: and predictability and menial duties to one of assisting her 242 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: whirlwind brother was a huge change. For this woman who 243 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: was only twenty two at the time, so she was 244 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: suddenly responsible for the budget of the household and taking 245 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,560 Speaker 1: care of trips to the market. And she performed with 246 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,559 Speaker 1: her brother as a featured singer often, and she apparently 247 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: also had a lot of arguments with her brother's hired servant. 248 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: She does not speak very well of that woman in 249 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: her letters her memoirs. She was also initially pretty homesick. 250 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 1: Her English wasn't good enough to bond with anyone else 251 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: in Bath, and her brother was incredibly busy. Her sister 252 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 1: had been left a widow with six children, and Caroline 253 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: also felt badly the there wasn't anything she could do 254 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: to help. But on the upside, you know, while she 255 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: is in this whirlwind, crazy world, the learning that she 256 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: had yearned for back in Germany but had been denied 257 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: was certainly abundant in England. She was mentally stimulated at 258 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: all times. She had to learn the bookkeeping, as we 259 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: were saying, she was learning English as quickly as she 260 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: could uh, and she had to learn a lot more 261 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: about music in pretty short order. And in some ways 262 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: this isolation of this transition and her homesickness really likely 263 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: bonded her to William more than ever, although she really 264 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: didn't get as much of his time and attention as 265 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: she wished because he had so many students to see 266 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: in addition to his extracurricular studies in astronomy. She was 267 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: making a really good name for herself as a singer, 268 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: though she was even approached by other music companies to 269 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: perform with them, but she declined, saying that she really 270 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: needed to stay with her brother and his work. And 271 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: as William turned his attention progressively more and more to 272 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: a strong to me, Caroline followed suit. Uh, she assisted 273 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: her brother in the assembling of telescopes and analyzing the heavens, 274 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: and we could do a whole podcast just about William 275 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: and sort of how his music to astronomy transition happened. 276 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: So I don't want people to think I'm just leaving 277 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: that out, but Caroline's really the focus here. But while 278 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: she's doing all of this and helping him assemble things 279 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: and polishing lenses and mirrors, she ended up learning a 280 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: great deal about astronomy herself. William is credited with discovering 281 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: Uranus in one while he was actually searching for double stars. Incidentally, 282 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: the planet was initially named George or the Georgian Star, 283 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: after the King of England, which sounds a lot more 284 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: majestic than just calling a star George. As a return 285 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: for his work, William Herschel was innighted and appointed to 286 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: the position of court Astronomer for King George the Third. 287 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: And this new appointment meant that the Herschels had to 288 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: move closer to Windsor Castle. And while he was making 289 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: less money as the royal astronomer than he had as 290 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: a music shin and teacher, uh William Herschel was now 291 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: making enough that he didn't have to kind of have 292 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: this double career situation, so he could focus entirely on 293 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: his scientific endeavors. And William used this new position to 294 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: build a bigger telescope and he launched a long term 295 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: survey of the sky that would turn into a project 296 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: that really ran two decades. And initially, as he would 297 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: observe heavenly bodies through his telescope, he was up on 298 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: this ladder and he would call them out to Caroline, 299 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: who would be down on the ground, and she would 300 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: carefully record everything that he said, so he really trusted 301 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: her to keep track of everything that they were witnessing 302 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: and identifying. As their list got bigger and became more detailed, 303 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: took on the name New General Catalog. This name persists 304 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: in codified for him today, as the many astronomical objects 305 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: are still identified by their NGC number. And William also 306 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: gave Caroline her own what he called her quote seven 307 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: foot Newtonian sweeper, and this was a telescope that she 308 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: would often use to observe the night sky, uh just 309 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: on her own or when she was filling in for 310 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: William while he was traveling, so that they wouldn't have 311 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: any gaps in their project. On February three, she identified 312 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: an open cluster which is on the record as n 313 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 1: g C sixty. The same year, she observed and recorded 314 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 1: n GC to fifty three, also known as the Sculptor Galaxy. 315 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 1: And one of her claims to fame is that she 316 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 1: was the first woman credited with discovering a comet. So 317 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: on August one and again on following nights of seventeen six, 318 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:41,960 Speaker 1: she saw an object that was moving across the night 319 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: sky and she identified it as a comet, and she 320 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: immediately sent word by mail to all of their fellow 321 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: astronomers about her discovery in the hopes that they too 322 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:54,479 Speaker 1: would study it. She wanted to share this information as 323 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: rapidly as possible. After the comment discovery, William, who was 324 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:02,359 Speaker 1: the King's astronomer, lobbied for his assistant Caroline to be 325 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: paid for her work. This made her the first woman 326 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: to actually be paid as a professional scientist in Great Britain, 327 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: and she would go on to discover a total of 328 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: eight comments uh in a little longer than the decade 329 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: following that first comet identification. And this was all happening 330 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: during a sort of comic craze that was happening in 331 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 1: post enlightenment Georgian England. So it gave Caroline a certain 332 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: degree of celebrity, although as a woman astronomer, which was 333 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,879 Speaker 1: you know, certainly an odd duck for the times, she 334 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: was sometimes lampooned in comics, just as she was also 335 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: being lauded as something of a visionary. In seventeen eighty six, 336 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 1: Williams started courting a wealthy widow neighbor, Mary Bernie Pitt. 337 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: When when William married her in seventeen eighty eight, his 338 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:53,479 Speaker 1: partnership with Caroline changed really considerably and became somewhat strained uh, 339 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: the household duties that Caroline had been taking care of 340 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: all of this time were pasted to William's bride, and 341 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: the sister was then freed up to pursue her astronomy 342 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 1: work full time. And this certainly sounds like a good thing. 343 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: She was likely much more passionate about the astronomy, but 344 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: the loss of control and her sense of place in 345 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: her brother's life really affected Caroline quite deeply. After sixteen 346 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 1: years living and working with William, Caroline moved to her 347 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: own lodgings and she started having to go to his 348 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: place to work. She no longer had keys to the 349 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 1: home or to the observatory, and we actually don't know 350 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,960 Speaker 1: exactly what Caroline's feelings were at this time. There is 351 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: actually a ten year gap in her personal journals from 352 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: sevent to sevent those documents were destroyed. There are journals 353 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 1: with ripped out pages. Um When her personal notes and 354 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,120 Speaker 1: narratives start up again near the end of the century, 355 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,479 Speaker 1: she speaks of her sister in law, who by all 356 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: accounts was a really gentle and amiable woman. Everyone really 357 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: liked her with a great deal of kindness, and the 358 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 1: two did eventually become very close, but I think it 359 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: was a rough ride for those ten years. She probably 360 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: wrote some things down she did not want to be 361 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: kept on record. Those ten years were still spent working 362 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: both with her brother and on her own, and this 363 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: was in Caroline was discovering her many comments, and she 364 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,440 Speaker 1: was keeping records of her work. The seven comments which 365 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,120 Speaker 1: followed the first were observed and identified in December seventeen 366 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: eighty eight, January seventeen ninety, April seventeen nine, December seventeen, 367 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:35,479 Speaker 1: October seventeen two, November seventeen and August seventeen ninety seven. 368 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: And the first Royal Astronomer of England, who was named 369 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: John Flamsteed, had compiled an existing star catalog in the 370 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:47,479 Speaker 1: late sixteen hundreds in early seventeen hundreds, and so in 371 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: addition to using this new free time that Caroline had 372 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 1: at her disposal after her brother's marriage to search for comments, 373 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: she also used it to cross index the Flamsteed catalog 374 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,480 Speaker 1: with the data that she William had compiled, and she 375 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,199 Speaker 1: was able to add more than five hundred additional stars 376 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 1: to the existing record as a consequence. William died in 377 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty two, and after her brother was gone, Caroline 378 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: went back to Germany where she continued her work entirely 379 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: on her own. So on her own after William's death, 380 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: and also working with her nephew, who was also an astronomer, 381 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: Caroline cataloged nebulae along with her brother. Caroline was instrumental 382 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: in expanding the number of known star clusters from one 383 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: hundred to two thousand, five hundred and those are rough numbers. 384 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,879 Speaker 1: It's you know, more than that. But she went on 385 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: to get many many accolades uh as she aged. She 386 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: won a gold medal from the Royal Astronomical Society in 387 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,119 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty eight for her work in nebulae. In eighteen 388 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: thirty two, the King of Denmark honored her with the 389 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: medal for her work. She was made an honorary member 390 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 1: of the Royal Society in eighteen thirty five, and she 391 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,439 Speaker 1: actually shared the honor of being the first woman to 392 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 1: be named an honorary member of the Society with Mary Somerville, 393 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: who also worked in astronomy, and she was also given 394 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: this honorary membership the same year. In eighteen thirty eight, 395 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: she was made a member of the Royal Irish Academy. 396 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty six, she was given the Gold Medal 397 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: for Science by the King of Prussia. Caroline wrote her 398 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,639 Speaker 1: last entry in her day book in September of eighteen 399 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,239 Speaker 1: forty five, and in the winter of eighteen forty eight 400 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: forty eight, Caroline became ill as the cold of the 401 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:38,800 Speaker 1: season swept in. She initially refused a neighbor friend's offer 402 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: to move to her bed to a warmer room than 403 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: it existed in and she was already an elderly woman 404 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: and somewhat freel at this point, and as a consequence of, 405 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: you know, staying in this cold with a compromised immune 406 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: system already, she just got sicker and sicker. She did 407 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: eventually allow them to move her bed, and while she 408 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: rallied now and again, she never really recovered. Her spirit 409 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,880 Speaker 1: remained until the end, though, and in a letter from 410 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: the same bed moving friend to Caroline's nephew John, it's 411 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: reported that when a male friend sent his love and 412 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: hopes that Caroline would soon be well enough for him 413 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: to visit and give her a kiss, as he had 414 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: on her previous birthday, she replied by saying, tell the 415 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: general that I have not tasted anything I liked so well. 416 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,680 Speaker 1: I just love that she kind of was a little flirty, 417 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: even at the very end. It was very sweet. Uh. 418 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: And the letter in which that story was relayed to 419 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:35,640 Speaker 1: John was dated January six, and Caroline died just three 420 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 1: days later on January nine. She was ninety seven at 421 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,879 Speaker 1: the time. A letter written by Caroline's niece to a 422 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,679 Speaker 1: cousin reads, I felt almost a sense of joyful relief 423 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 1: at the death of my aunt, and the thought that 424 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: now the unquiet heart was at rest. All that she 425 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: had of love to give was concentrated on her beloved brother. 426 00:23:55,480 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: At his death, she felt herself alone. And Caroline wrote 427 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: her own tombstone inscription, and it reads, the eyes of 428 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 1: her who is glorified here below turned to the starry heavens. 429 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,959 Speaker 1: She had very pragmatically made all of the arrangements for 430 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,560 Speaker 1: her burial uh and her funeral years before her death, 431 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: so when she passed it was basically like, Nope, everything's 432 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: taken care of already, because she didn't want to burden 433 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: her nephew or any of her other relatives with dealing 434 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 1: with it. She also wrote, I am nothing, I have nothing. 435 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,119 Speaker 1: All I am all I know I owe to my brother. 436 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: I am only the tool, which he shaped to his use. 437 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 1: A well trained puppy dog would have done as much. 438 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: So some people interpret this as devotion to a sibling, 439 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: and others have read it read it almost as resentful 440 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: the words of a woman who's bound by obligation to 441 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: do this because her brother was her benefactor and told 442 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: her to. But given her obvious love for astronomy and 443 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: the work they did together, it seems more in line 444 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: with the thinking of someone who wishes to brush away 445 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:03,880 Speaker 1: praise and credit and instead becus the spotlight on someone else. Yeah, 446 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 1: she seemed generally uncomfortable with kind of talking about herself 447 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,840 Speaker 1: in any sort of personal way, or you know, with accolades. 448 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: She was always very quick to kind of shrug them off. 449 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,199 Speaker 1: There's a really lovely intro written in her memoir and 450 00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:22,440 Speaker 1: about her, and it says her own recollections go back 451 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: to the great earthquake of Lisbon. She lived through the 452 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,400 Speaker 1: American War, the Old French Revolution, the rise and fall 453 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: of Napoleon, and all manner of lesser events and wars. 454 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: She saw all the improvements and inventions from the lumbering 455 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 1: post wagon in which she made her first journey from 456 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,120 Speaker 1: Hanover to the railroads and electric telegraphs, which have intersected 457 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,880 Speaker 1: all Europe. For she lived well down into the reign 458 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,119 Speaker 1: of Victoria, but her work of minding the heavens with 459 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: her brother engrossed all her thoughts, and she scarcely mentions 460 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: any public events. Several comments are named after her, including 461 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,800 Speaker 1: Herschel rigole as a lunar creator see Herschel, and an 462 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,919 Speaker 1: asteroid called Lucretia, which is her middle name. One of 463 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: Williams's telescopes is on display at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, 464 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,159 Speaker 1: and another is on display at Cambridge, and there are 465 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: several other pieces of telescopes um at various observatories and 466 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:20,120 Speaker 1: museums throughout the world. The Herschel Museum of Astronomy now 467 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: stands at nineteen New King Street and Bath and that 468 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: is where William and Caroline lived together. And I would 469 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 1: love to go visit, said Tracy. Let's do that. So yeah, 470 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: that it's such an interesting story because she really uh. 471 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 1: She's often called the Cinderella of astronomy because she started 472 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 1: in this sort of scullery made path and then ended 473 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:46,120 Speaker 1: up being really illuminary in her field, especially bizarre when 474 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,439 Speaker 1: you consider that on top of the fact that she 475 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 1: was a woman at a time when men were really 476 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: running the show in terms of science. I love it 477 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 1: so much. Do you also have some listener mail, I do? 478 00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 1: I do? I have two pieces. One is a pronounce 479 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: correction that kind of made me laugh. And this is 480 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: from our listener Jeremy, and he says, I just moved 481 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 1: to Nashville, Tennessee, but grew up in southeastern Missouri area, 482 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: which is kind of close to Memphis. And he's referring 483 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: to our s Sultana episode. He said, to hear you 484 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: mentioned that the Sultana stopped in Cairo, and he says 485 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:21,119 Speaker 1: the locals pronounced it Caro, Illinois was interesting. Uh, the 486 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: small town in southern Illinois has a fascinating history within itself. 487 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: It was once a bustling river city that was blessed 488 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,879 Speaker 1: with prosperity surged by post Civil War activities. Now, however, 489 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 1: it's an extremely poor and run down city, which is 490 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: unfortunate because of all its history. Uh, which is super interesting. 491 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,760 Speaker 1: He um, So he corrected our pronunciation on Cairo, our 492 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: listener and also read about the same thing. That's one 493 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: of those things that will always be super hard for 494 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: me for people that don't know Atlanta. We have a 495 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,159 Speaker 1: street here which you would look at and think was 496 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: post Leon, and they call it posta Leon and it 497 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 1: makes me crazy. So so apologies to Cairo. I did 498 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,439 Speaker 1: not mean to um slur your an aim. And we 499 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: also have one from our listener Heather, which is in 500 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: relation to our Francis glessnar Lee episode. She says, Hi, 501 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: Dracy and Holly, I am a crime scene investigator in Nevada. 502 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: You might be interested to know that Francis's contributions are 503 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 1: not included in most literature and books for modern crime 504 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: scene investigations. I have not heard of Francis glessnar Lee 505 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: during my studies in school or once I became an investigator. 506 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,200 Speaker 1: Most of the information provided in crime scene references cover 507 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: the contributions of Edmund Locard, Alphonse Bertillon. I might be 508 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: pronouncing that wrong because I always french it up, Sir 509 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: Francis Galton and others a k a. Men. As a 510 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: woman crime scene investigator, it was refreshing to hear about 511 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: women's contributions to my field. Thank you for the episode. 512 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: I would love to hear more episodes involving crime scene 513 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 1: investigations or forensics. Me too. I love that stuff. Uh, 514 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: so that is cool. Uh, Heather, your job has to 515 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: be fascinating. I don't know that I could hack it, 516 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: but I'm very interested in it. Uh. If you would 517 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 1: like your right to us, you can certainly do so. 518 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: And that email address is History Podcast at how stuff 519 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: works dot com. You're probably used to it by now, 520 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: but that is a slight change from our previous address. Uh. 521 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: You can also connect with us at Facebook dot com 522 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 1: slash mist in history, on Twitter at misst in history 523 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 1: at misst in history dot tumbler dot com, on pinterest 524 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: dot com slash mist in History. You can visit us 525 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: at our website, which is missed in History dot com. 526 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: We have got you missed in History covered. Uh. You 527 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: would like to learn a little bit more about topic 528 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: related to today's episode, you can go to our parent website, 529 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: how stuff Works. Type in comets in the search bar 530 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:37,960 Speaker 1: and you will get an article called how comets work 531 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: and you can learn a little bit more about these 532 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: heavenly bodies that Caroline Herschel was so instrumental in studying. 533 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,959 Speaker 1: You can learn about commets or almost anything else your 534 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 1: brain can think about. If you visit our parent site, 535 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: which is how Stuffworks dot com. For more on this 536 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how staff works 537 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 1: dot com in the steep in the