John Fleming (1747–17 May 1829) was a British surgeon of the Indian Medical Service, naturalist, and politician. While in India he served as an interim superintendent of the

Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, previously known as Indian Botanic Garden and the Calcutta Botanic Garden, is situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata. They are commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden and previ ...

before William Roxburgh took charge. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Gatton 1818–1820, Saltash 1820–1826. Fleming was an amateur botanist and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of London 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, re ...

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

and the Linnean Society.

Life

Fleming studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and joined the Indian Medical Service in August 1768 as an assistant surgeon in Bengal. He became a surgeon in 1771 and was made a member of the medical board in 1786 and became a president of the board on 8 December 1800. He served as the interim superintendent of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta after the death of

Robert Kyd The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

until William Roxburgh took over. Fleming published ''A catalogue of Indian medicinal plants and drugs, with their names in the Hindustani and Sanscrit languages'' appeared in ''Asiatick Researches'' (11, 1810, 153–96). He retired in 1811 and returned to Britain in 1813. During his time in India he befriended both

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton Francis Buchanan (15 February 1762 – 15 June 1829), later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, was a Scottish physician who made significant contributions as a geographer, zoologist, and botanist whil ...

and Thomas Hardwicke. He also conducted a long correspondence with Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

including sending him plant samples such as Thibet (Tibet) Musk. William Roxburgh named the legume genus ''Flemingia'' after him. In 1813 he became a Fellow of the

and in 1817 a Fellow of the

. His proposers for the latter were

Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh FRSE (24 December 1766 – 18 September 1829) was a Scottish landowner and politician. He served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh. Life William was the s ...

, Tb Allan and

David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...

. On his return he lived on Chandos Street off Grosvenor Square in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and later (1816) in Gloucester Place. He died in London on 17 May 1829. A revised obituary was written by botanist James Britten in 1916 which resolved confusion with John Fleming (1785-1857). In 1882 the Department of Botany (of the University of London) bought 13 folio volumes of drawings of Indian plants, mainly from the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

area, organised by Fleming (but drawn largely by Indian natives) which are now in the British Museum. Another collection of paintings of animals made by Indian artists is in the Victoria Memorial Museum in Kolkata.

Publications

*'' A Catalogue of Indian Medicinal Plants'' (Calcutta, 1810)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, John 1747 births 1829 deaths British surgeons British naturalists UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 Indian Medical Service officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Saltash Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Linnean Society of London