The object was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier on May 29, 1764, who cataloged it as number 10 in his catalogue and described it as a "nebula without stars".

In 1774, German astronomer Johann Elert Bode likewise called it a "nebulous patch without stars; very pale".

Using larger instrumentation, German-born astronomer William Herschel was able to resolve the cluster into its individual members.

[11] The cluster shows evidence of being enriched by the elements generated through the s-process in massive stars and Type II supernovae.

[2] Correspondingly, the core region contains a concentration of interaction-formed blue straggler stars, most of which formed 2–5 billion years ago.