QThe Royal Society was the recording station, as LITTLE 

 Kiel, Greenwich and Harvard are now. Herschel made JOURNEYS 

 haste to get his new world on record through his kind 

 neighbor, Dr. Watson. 



The Royal Society gave out the information and soon 

 vairous other telescopes corroborated the discovery 

 made by the Bath musician. 



Herschel christened his new discovery " Georgium 

 Sidus" in honor of the King, but the star belonged as 

 much to Germany and France as to England, and as- 

 tronomers abroad scouted the idea of peppering the 

 heavens with the names of nobodies. Several astron- 

 omers suggested the name "Herschel," if the dis- 

 coverer would consent, but this he would not do. Dr. 

 Bode then named the new star Uranus, and Uranus it 

 is, although perhaps with any other name 'twould 

 shine as bright. 



Herschel was forty-three years old when he discovered 

 Uranus. He was still a professional musician, and an 

 amateur astronomer. But it did not require much 

 urging on the part of Dr. Watson when he presented 

 Herschel's name for membership in the Royal Society 

 for that respectable body to at once pass favorably on 

 the nomination. As one member in seconding the 

 motion put it, "Herschel honors us in accepting this 

 membership, quite as much as we do him in granting 



XL* 9&* ^2^ 



And so the next paper presented by Herschel to the 

 Royal Society appears on the record signed "William 

 Herschel, F. R. S." Later it was to appear, "William 



149 



