Sir John F.W. Herschel
This Day in History: January 15, 1834
Additional Date: January 15, 1834
Sir John Frederick William Herschel was a British astronomer, mathematician, chemist and photographer. In 1833, he embarked on a journey to South Africa to catalogue the stars, nebulae, and other objects of the southern skies. He arrived in Cape Town on 15 January 1834 on a ship, accompanied by his wife Margaret Brodie Stewart. During their stay in the Cape, Herschel and his wife produced about 131 illustrations showing the Cape flora. He conducted his survey of the southern skies from an estate he stayed on Table Mountain. In 1838, the couple returned to Britain.