William Herschel discovered NGC 4436 = H II-172 = h1272 on 17 Apr 1784 (sweep 199) and recorded "Three faint nebulae; the two first vS [NGC 4431 and 4436], the third [NGC 4440] S." His single position is roughly 30 sec of RA too large, but the identifications are certain. JH noted "vF; gbM; 40"."

300/350mm - 13.1" (5/14/83): very faint, diffuse, low even surface brightness. A mag 11.5 star is just off the NW edge 1.0' from center. Forms a pair with NGC 4440 3' SE.

600/800mm - 24" (5/29/14): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 WNW-ESE, 30"x20", weak concentration. A mag 12.5 star is off the NW side, 0.9' from center. Faintest of three with NGC 4440 3.4' ESE and NGC 4431 3.8' SW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb