In 1772, she came to England to live with her brother William, who had been appointed organist to the Octagon chapel, at Bath. When he changed his profession for astronomical labours, she became his helpmate. “From the first commencement of his astronomical pursuits,” says an authority, who writes from intimate knowledge, “her attendance on both his daily labours and nightly watches was put in requisition, and was found so useful, that on his removal to Datchet, and subsequently to Slough, she performed the whole of the arduous and important duties of his astronomical assistant—not only reading the clock and noting down all the observations from dictation as an amanuensis, but subsequently executing the whole of the extensive and laborious numerical calculations necessary to render them available for the purposes of science, as well as a multitude of others relative to the various objects of theoretical and experimental inquiry in which, during a long and active career, he was at any time engaged.” For these important services, His Majesty King George III. was graciously pleased to place her in receipt of a salary sufficient for her singularly moderate wants and retired habits.
Her brother was knighted by George III., and made a D.C.L. by the University of Oxford. During the whole of his distinguished career, Miss Herschel remained by his side, aiding him and modestly sharing the reflection of his fame.
After Sir William’s death in 1822, Miss Herschel returned to Hanover, which she never afterwards left; passing the last twenty-six years of her life in repose, enjoying the society and cherished by the regard of her remaining relatives and friends, and gratified by the occasional visits of eminent astronomers. The Astronomical Society of London, very much to its honour, voted her a gold medal for her reduction of the nebulæ discovered by her renowned brother. She was afterwards chosen an honorary member of that Society, and also a member of the Royal Irish Academy: very unusual honours to be conferred upon a woman. Is it not matter both for wonder and for lamentation, that the guardians of learning, the patrons of literature, and the princes of science, have been so indifferent to the intellectual claims of the female sex? Surely sages and philosophers should not be the last to rescue woman from the neglect of ignorance and the contempt of frivolity; to lift her up to her proper elevation in the sight of the world; and enhance their own dignity by associating her with themselves. There can be no doubt but that the universities would have conferred their most honourable diplomas upon Miss Herschel, had she not been a woman.