William Herschel discovered NGC 4840 = H II-385 on 11 Apr 1785 (sweep 396) and simply noted "F, pL." His position is 17 sec of RA west of CGCG 160-042 = PGC 44324. JH accidentally skipped this nebula when he compiled the GC so Dreyer added it to the GC Supplement as 5684. d'Arrest measured an accurate position over 4 nights.

400/500mm - 17.5" (5/14/94): faint, small, round, 0.4' diameter, symmetrical appearance with an even concentration. Member of the AGC 1656 with NGC 4839 7.0' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb