John Herschel discovered NGC 1801 = h2739 on 24 Nov 1834 and reported "B, L, R, vgbM, 2.5'." On 3 subsequent sweeps he variously described the size as 90", 45" and 40". Robert Innes and Willem van den Bos, observing with the 26-inch refactor of the Union Observatory in 1926, called this object a "globular cluster, 13 mag and fainter stars, 90" diameter, bM."

400/500mm - 18" (7/10/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 128x this LMC cluster appeared moderately bright, round, 1' diameter with a fairly even surface brightness and no core. Located 8' SW mag 8 HD 33031. Forms a pair with NGC 1793 6' NW. NGC 1809, a galaxy that shines through the LMC, lies 8' NE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb