William Herschel discovered NGC 2914 = H III-513 = h609 on 3 Mar 1786 (sweep 534) and recorded "eF; vS; stellar; 240 verified it." His position is 1.4' NW of UGC 5096, a similar offset error as nearby NGC 2911, the previous object is the sweep. Dreyer logged it while observing with the 72" as "F, S, R, bM, vF star 3/4' following."

300/350mm - 13.1" (4/29/84): faint, very small, faint stellar nucleus.

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/20/88): faint, very small, slightly elongated. A mag 15 star is off the east edge 36" from the center. A mag 11 star lies 1.6' NW. Forms a trio with NGC 2911 4.8' NW and UGC 5093 4.8' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb