Colonel John Herschel FRS, FRAS (29 October 1837 – 31 May 1921) was an English military engineer, surveyor and astronomer.
His family had travelled to the Cape in late 1833, so that his father could work on an astronomical survey of the southern skies.
[2] The family returned to England in 1838, where Herschel was later educated at Clapham Grammar School, and then attended the East India Company Military Seminary at Addiscombe.
[3] Herschel entered the East India Company's service as a cadet to serve in the Bengal Engineers, and on 26 December 1856 was made a local and temporary ensign while under the command of Colonel Sandham, at the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham, for instruction in the art of sapping and mining.
[5] However, shortly afterwards, on 27 August 1858, with the end of company rule in India, and the assumption of direct administration by the British government, Herschel's regiment was transferred en masse to the Royal Engineers.