Sunday, November 15, 2015

William Herschel - Symphony No.14 in D-major

Image from der Wik
To nerds, William Herschel is known for his astronomical discoveries, most important of which was the planet Uranus.  This was the first planet discovered since the ancient world, and Herschel was instantly famous.  King George III made him Court Astronomer and he followed up his planetary discovery by finding moons of Uranus and Saturn.  And infrared radiation.

And long term readers will remember seeing him here before.  He discovered a link between sunspot activity and the price of grain.  It seems (despite the "settled" climate science of today) that the Sun does in fact have an effect on the climate.

But he was a polymath in an age of polymaths.  He wrote two dozen symphonies (among many other works).  Sir William (knighted by his late Majesty) was a man of of many talents.

Happy birthday, Sir William.  Born this day in 1738.


1 comment:

  1. libertymanNovember 15, 2015 at 9:33 AM

    Always learning, always something here to enlighten!

    I am always amazed at the intersection of scientists, engineers, mathemeticians and musical talent. It seems many in tech fields are adept at music. Mr. Herschel seems to be the epitome of that.

    And I learned Uranium comes from the same name as Uranus the planet almost named after King George III whom we defeated in the Revolution. Seems apparent now, but I never made the link before.

    Always a good Sunday when we have our music lesson.

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