What is the proportion of women among the laureates of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society?
As it was suggested to me that I could make the counting myself, I decided to do it in my own answer… Thanks again to Quirkie for giving the link. 1) First some information about one of the founders: “Sir Frederick William Herschel, FRS KH (15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering Uranus. He also discovered infrared radiation and made many other discoveries in astronomy.” “William and Mary had one child, John, born at Observatory House on 7 March 1792. In 1816, William was made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order by the Prince Regent entitling him to the prefix ‘Sir’. He helped to found the Astronomical Society of London in 1820, which in 1831 received a royal charter and became the Royal Astronomical Society. On 25 August 1822, Herschel died at Observatory House, Slough, and is buried at nearby St Laurence’s Church, Upton. His son John Herschel also became a famous astronomer. One of William’s brothers, A
