Herschel, Caroline Lucretia 1750-1848
British astronomer

Born in Hanover, Germany, she was the sister of William Herschel. In 1772 her brother took her to England as assistant with his musical activities and she became his collaborator when he abandoned his first career for astronomy (1782). Between 1786 and 1797 she discovered eight comets. Among her other discoveries was the companion of the Andromeda nebula (1783). In 1787 she was granted a salary of �50 a year from the king as her brother's assistant at Slough. Her Index to Flamsteed's Observations of the Fixed Stars and a list of errata were published by the Royal Society (1798). Following her brother's death she returned at the age of 72 to Hanover where she worked on the reorganization of his catalogue of nebulae. For this unpublished work she was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1828). She was elected (with Mary Somerville) an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society (1835), and a member of the Royal Irish Academy (1838). On her 96th birthday she received a gold medal from the King of Prussia.