William Herschel
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For other uses, see William Herschel (disambiguation).
| William Herschel | |
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| Born | 15 November 1738 Hanover, Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 25 August 1822 (aged 83) Slough , Berkshire, England |
| Nationality | German; later British |
| Fields | Astronomy and Music |
| Known for | Discovery of Uranus, Discovery of Infrared Radiation |
| Notable awards | Copley Medal |
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Sir Frederick William Herschel,[1] KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel (15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and a composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hannover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19. Herschel became most famous for the discovery of the planet Uranus in addition to two of its major moons, Titania and Oberon. He also discovered two moons of Saturn and infrared radiation. Finally, Herschel is less known for the twenty-four symphonies that he composed.
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[edit] Early life and musical activities
Herschel was born in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover one of ten children of Isaak and Anna Ilse, née Moritzen, Herschel. His father was of Jewish descent[2] and an oboist in the Hannover Military Band. In 1755 the Hannoverian Guards regiment, in whose band Wilhelm and his brother Jakob were engaged as oboists, was ordered to England. At the time the crowns of Great Britain and Hannover were united under George II. This brief visit made an impression and the next year the brothers resigned from the Guards band and moved to London. Wilhelm, nineteen years old at this time, was a quick student of the English language. In England he went by the English rendition of his name, Frederick William Herschel.
He played the cello and harpsichord in addition to the oboe and later the organ. He composed numerous musical works, including 24 symphonies and many concertos, as well as some church music. Apart from a few oboe concertos, his music is largely forgotten today.
Herschel moved to Sunderland in 1761 when Charles Avison immediately engaged him as first violin and soloist for his Newcastle orchestra, where he played for one season. In ‘Sunderland in the County of Durham April 20, 1761’ he wrote his symphony no. 8 in C minor. He was head of the Durham Militia band 1760–61 and visited the home of Sir Ralph Milbanke at Halnaby Hall in 1760, where he wrote two symphonies, as well as giving performances himself
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