Sir John Frederick William Herschel – and John Glenn

[Andy SawersModerator Topics: 113Replies: 588]

We had a terrific talk the other evening about Sir John William Frederick Herschel by Flamsteed member Roy Hookway. An absolutely riveting presentation about someone who was revered in his day – to the extent that he was given the honour of a burial within Westminster Abbey – but I’ll confess I’ve never really heard of him before.

During the course of poking about the internet looking for more information, I discovered that astronaut John Glenn’s middle name was Herschel. So was his father’s, but I can’t find out if that is a family name going back generations or if John H Glenn Sr was named after Herschel (father or son) or if there’s no connection and he’s named after someone (or something) else entirely.

Anyone know?

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