NGC 6712 is a globular cluster that was probably discovered by Le Gentil on July 9, 1749 when investigating the Milky Way star cloud in Aquila.

Independently discovered by William Herschel on June 16, 1784 and cataloged as H I.47; he also first classified it as a round nebula.

John Herschel was the first to describe it as a globular star cluster during his observations in the 1830s.

Such systems involve an extremely rapidly rotating pulsar, accompanied by a low-mass star or brown dwarf.

Although pulsars rotate more slowly with age, PSR J1853−0842A is accelerating, which would not be possible without it being within a globular cluster.