John Hershal
Born: March 7, 1792, Slough. then Buckinghamshire now Berkshire, England
Died: May 11. 1871 (aged 79), Collingwood, near Hawkhurst, Kent, England
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, photographer and long time friend of Charles Babbage. He married Margaret Brodie Stewart (1810-1864) on 3 March 1829 and produced twelve children.
Hershal studied at Eton and St. John's College Cambridge and graduated as Senior Wrangler in 1813. It was around this time that he and Charles Babbage became friends, both intellectual visionaries, Cambridge students studying the art of re-inventing the future.
In the summer of 1821 Babbage and Hershal were preparing tables for the Astronomical Society. The mathematical tables of the day were drawn up by hand and worked out by people ironically called "computers". Their job was to complete and record calculation after calculation based on a fixed formula. It was inevitable that human error would slip into such a laborious procedure. As the world was developing the impact of these mistakes were becoming more and more profound. Nautical navigation was a primary concern. Countless shipwrecks occurred as a result of errors in mathematical tables at the expense of trade, national security and human life. The growing need to develop a fool proof system to serve the industrial revolution was indeed a national concern. As Babbage and Hershal ran through the figures they discovered error after error until Babbage finally exclaimed to his friend, " I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam!". From this point Babbage was obsessed with developing machinery that would solve the problem. Hershal, his good and loyal friend, remained a staunch supporter in Babbage's quest.
Hershal's personal achievements and acknowledgment for contributions to science in his life time far outstripped those of his comrade. Hershal was awarded a baronetcy upon completing his work mapping the stars in the southern hemisphere and upon his death in 1871 was given a state funeral. In contast to Hershals burial at Westminster Abbey, Babbage's funeral the same year was a low key affair and his obituary non existent.
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The friendship between Babbage and Hershal was one of contrasting personalities. Hershal the balanced diplomat often found himself defending his friend in light of his public attacks on figures of authority. When shown a pre-publication draft of Babbage's vehement attack on the scientific establishment Herschel wrote that he deserved 'a good slap in the face' he advised Babbage to burn the document, ignored his friends advice and published the article.
Although the two differed greatly their personal friendship and repect for each other is evident. Charles Babbage named his first son Benjamin Hershal Babbage and was known to all simply as Hershal.