The Cambridge Companion to John Herschel

The first-ever comprehensive account of John Herschel's life, work and legacy, shedding new light on the history of Victorian science.

John Herschel was one of the most prominent figures in Victorian science. This is the first-ever comprehensive account of his life, work and legacy. Drawing on Herschel's published oeuvre and surviving archival material, these essays explore an extraordinary mind, asking what it meant to think scientifically in the nineteenth century.It has been said that being scientific in Victorian England meant to be as much like John Herschel as possible. This volume shows readers what it meant to be John Herschel (1792-1871), one of England's most prominent polymaths. Drawing on his published oeuvre and recent scholarship, as well as an immense amount of surviving archival material and correspondence, these essays present the first ever comprehensive account of Herschel's life, work, and legacy. From mathematics and astronomy, to philosophy and politics, the volume sheds new light on his crucial role in the history of Victorian science and explores a wide array of issues in the history of nineteenth-century culture, philosophy, mathematics, and beyond.