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In 1919, the long-serving director of the Harvard College Observatory died. When the ambitious Harlow Shapley heard the news, although only in his early 30s, he resolved, if possible, to succeed him. But a problem emerged: Shapley was enlisted to debate the size of the Galaxy at a Washington meeting, where his opponent would be a noted speaker who was sure to defeat Shapley in front of an audience that included several involved in the Harvard appointment. The article describes the steps Shapley took to avoid or restrict the confrontation, and how in the end Shapley managed to secure the post, in which he became an outstanding success.

In 1816, William Herschel was appointed a knight of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. In 1818, he applied for a coat of arms. This was because all Guelphic knights were asked to supply for display in Hanover a rectangular copper plate with their arms in coloured enamel. But this project came to nothing, and Herschel did not pursue his application. His son John was granted arms in 1838 when appointed baronet, and it is possible that the design of John’s arms was based on one of the two 1818 sketches supplied to his father.

William Herschel made reflecting telescopes for sale throughout Europe. The second-largest was a 20-ft with a 12-in mirror commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia for the astronomers of the St Petersburg Academy. The Academy unfortunately opted to have the mounting made locally (in which case the price was halved), but this proved beyond them. They therefore asked Herschel to supply the complete instrument. This he did but only after many delays, and as a result of turmoil both within the Academy and in the nation as a whole, the reflector was never put to use.

William Herschel supplemented his salary from the King by making reflectors for sale. The most complete statement of what he had to offer is contained in his reply to a letter written on behalf of Catherine the Great of Russia, in which the Empress was said to be interested in buying the largest reflector Herschel could supply.

William Herschel, telescope-builder, observer, and pioneer of deep-sky astronomy, was a professional musician for the first half of his life. He served as a boy bandsman in the Hanoverian Guards, and then fled to England in 1757 to escape the French. We are well informed about his time as a musician in Bath (1766–1782), which culminated in his discovery of Uranus, as his sister Caroline, chronicler of the family, was with him for most of these years. But little has been known of his previous time in the north of England (1760–1766), or of why an obscure jobbing musician should have been offered a prestigious post in Bath. This article is devoted to this episode in his career.