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__NOTOC__ Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the
Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
.


Early life and education

Smith was born in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world. During the early 1780s he enrolled in the medical course at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
where he studied chemistry under
Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of ...
and natural history under John Walker. He then moved to London in 1783 to continue his studies. Smith was a friend of Sir Joseph Banks, who was offered the entire collection of books, manuscripts and specimens of the
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
natural historian and botanist
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...
following the death of his son
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' (Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (modern) as a botanic ...
. Banks declined the purchase, but Smith bought the collection for the bargain price of £1,000. The collection arrived in London in 1784, and in 1785 Smith was elected Fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
.


Academic career

Between 1786 and 1788 Smith made the
grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...
through the Netherlands, France, Italy and Switzerland visiting botanists, picture galleries and herbaria. He founded the
Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
in 1788, becoming its first President, a post he held until his death. He returned to live in Norwich in 1796 bringing with him the entire Linnean Collection. His library and botanical collections acquired European fame and were visited by numerous entomologists and botanists from the entire Continent. In 1792, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1796, he was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
. Smith spent the remaining thirty years of his life writing books and articles on botany. His books included ''Flora Britannica'' and ''The English Flora'' (4 volumes, 1824 – 1828). He contributed 3,348 botanical articles to '' Rees's Cyclopædia'' between 1808 and 1819, following the death of Rev. William Wood, who had started the work. In addition, he contributed 57 biographies of botanists. He contributed seven volumes to the major botanical publication of the eighteenth century, '' Flora Graeca'', the publications begun by
John Sibthorp John Sibthorp (28 October 1758 – 8 February 1796) was an English botanist. Education Sibthorp graduated from the University of Oxford in 1777 where he was an undergraduate student at Lincoln College, Oxford. He subsequently studied med ...
. A fruitful collaboration was found through descriptions Smith supplied to publisher and illustrator, James Sowerby with whom he subsequently developed as passionate interest in mosses and lichens. Depiction of flora in England had previously only found patronage for aesthetic concerns, but an interest in gardening and natural history saw illustrated publications, such as the exotic '' A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' and James Sowerby's 36-volume '' English Botany'', reach new audiences. In 1797 Smith published ''The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia'', the earliest book on North American insects. It included the illustrations and notes of John Abbot, with descriptions of new species by Smith based on Abbot's drawings. Smith's friendship with
William Roscoe William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children ''The Butterfly's Ball, and the G ...
(after whom he named the genus '' Roscoea'') saw him contribute 5000 plants between 1806 and 1817 to supplement the '' Roylean Herbarium''. This was to become the ''Smith Herbarium'' held by the Liverpool Botanical Garden.


Personal life and death

Smith died at his Norwich home in Surrey Street on March 17, 1828, aged 68. After his death the Linnean Collection, together with Smith's own collections, were bought by the Linnean Society for £3,000. He was married to Pleasance Reeve, who survived her husband by 49 years and edited his memoirs and correspondence. They are buried together at St Margaret's,
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and so ...
. His niece,
Frances Catherine Barnard Frances Catherine Barnard (pen name, Mrs. Alfred Barnard; 7 May 1796 – 30 January 1869) was an English writer, poet, and playwright. She was the author of various dramatic works and tales. Active in the 1800s, her work was published in England an ...
(1796–1869), was an author.


Works

*''Icones pictae plantarum rariorum descriptionibus et observationibus illustratae.'' London, 1790–93 *Linnaeus, Carl von, Disquisitio de sexu plantarum. (1786) – (English) ''A dissertation on the sexes of plants'' translated from the Latin of Linnaeus by James Edward Smith. London : Printed for the author, and sold by George Nicol ..., (book details: xv, 62, p. ; 22 cm. (8vo)) *"Tentamen Botanicum de Filicum Generibus Dorsiferarum", ''Mém. Acad. Roy. Sci. Turin'', vol. 5 (1793) 401–422; one of the earliest scientific papers on fern taxonom
Available online on Project Gutenberg
*''English Botany: Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with their Essential Characters, Synonyms and Places of Growth'', descriptions supplied by Smith, was issued as a part work over 23 years until its completion in 1813. This work was issued in 36 volumes with 2,592 hand-coloured plates of British plants.'' Published and illustrated by James Sowerby. *Linné, Carl von, ''Lachesis Lapponica'' or ''A Tour in Lapland'', Translated by James Edward Smith (1811). London: White and Cochrane In two volumes
Volume 1Volume 2
. *''Tracts Relating to Natural History'': published in London in 1798. A collection of essays concerning Linnaeus and botany.


Eponymy

The Himalayan spruce, '' Picea smithiana'' is named for him.


See also

* :Taxa named by James Edward Smith


References


Further reading

*Margot Walker, Sir James Edward Smith, 1759–1828. London: 1988


External links


Smith Collections
at the
Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
* * *
Lady Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Edward British pteridologists British taxonomists 1759 births 1828 deaths Bryologists English entomologists English mycologists English taxonomists Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scientists from Norwich British non-fiction writers 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers 19th-century English writers 18th-century British botanists 19th-century British botanists Male non-fiction writers Writers from Norwich