German-born English astronomer

Sir William Herschel was among the preeminent astronomers of the eighteenth century, and is credited with discovering the planet Uranus, binary stars, nebulae, and for correctly describing the form of the Milky Way galaxy.

Herschel was born in Hanover, Germany at a time when the city belonged to England under the rule of George II. As Herschel's father was a musician in the Hanoverian army, Herschel himself was trained in music in order to enter the same profession. The Seven Years' War, however, made military life an unattractive option, and in 1757, Herschel arrived in England where he began working as an organist and music teacher. Herschel learned of astronomy through his interest in the theory of music and the scientific basis for musical sounds, which led him to mathematics and then optics.

Newton's treatise on optics inspired Herschel with...