Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born in the town of Hanover on 16 March 1750. She was the eighth child and fourth daughter of Issak Herschel, a self-taught oboist, and his wife, Anna Ilse Moritzen. The Herschel family originated from Pirna in Saxony near Dresden. Issak became a bandmaster in the Hanoverian Foot Guards, whom he first joined in 1731, and was away with his regiment for substantial periods. He became ill after the Battle of Dettingen (part of the War of the Austrian Succession) in 1743 and never recovered fully; he suffered a weak constitution, chronic pain, and asthma for the remainder of his life. The oldest of their daughters, Sophia, was sixteen years older, and the only surviving girl besides Caroline. She married when Caroline was five, meaning that the younger girl was tasked with much of the household drudgery. Caroline and the other children received a cursory education, learning to read and write and little more. Her father attempted to educate her at home, but his efforts were mostly successful with the boys.