William Herschel discovered NGC 407 = H II-219, along with NGC 410 = II-220, on 12 Sep 1784 (sweep 268) and described both as "Two, eF and vS. The following NGC 410] the largest." He gave a single position, roughly between the two galaxies. Édouard Stephan (XIII-9) independently found the galaxy on 2 Oct 1883 at the Marseille Observatory and published an accurate position. Herman Schultz also measured a precise micrometric position and recorded a nearby star as a "nova" (NGC 408).

300/350mm - 13.1" (8/23/84): faint, very small, slightly elongated N-S, NGC 410 5' ENE.

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/23/89): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 N-S, bright core. Faintest of three with NGC 410 5' ENE and NGC 414 8.4' E.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb