William Herschel discovered NGC 4159 = H III-941 = h1116 on 12 Dec 1797 (sweep 1068) and recorded "vF, pS. It has two stars nf making a triangle with it." CH's reduced position is 1.7' southeast of UGC 7174 and the description is accurate. JH called it "eF; R; makes equilateral triangle with 2 stars."

400/500mm - 17.5" (5/2/92): faint, small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, low almost even surface brightness. Two mag 13 stars are 1.4' ESE and 1.0' NE of center. The galaxy is elongated in the direction of the star to the NE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb