John Sibthorp (28 October 1758 – 8 February 1796) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
.
Education
Sibthorp graduated from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in 1777 where he was an undergraduate student at
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...
. He subsequently studied
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
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 ...
and
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...
.
Career and research
In 1784, he succeeded his father to the Sherardian chair. Leaving his professional duties to a deputy, he left England for
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, in preparation for a botanical tour of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
(1786) and
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
(1787).
Returning to England at the end of the following year, he took part in the foundation of 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, and set to work on a
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
of
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, which was published in 1794 as ''Flora Oxoniensis''. He was elected as a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in Mar 1788.
He made a second journey to Greece, but developed
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
on the way home and died in
Bath on 8 February 1796. He was buried at
Bath Abbey
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th ...
, with a monument carved by
John Flaxman
John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...
which includes a garland of ''
Sibthorpia europaea
''Sibthorpia europaea'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common name Cornish moneywort. It can be found as a disjunct distribution in Western Europe from the Azores, Portugal and Spain to south-western Ireland and south-western Unite ...
''.
His will bequeathed his books on
natural history and
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
to the University of Oxford, and also founded Oxford's Sibthorpian Professorship of Rural Economy (subsequently titled the Sibthorpian Professorship of Plant Science). He directed that his endowment should first be applied to the publication of his ''
Flora Graeca
''Flora Graeca'' is a publication of the plants of Greece in the late 18th century, resulting from a survey by John Sibthorp and Ferdinand Bauer. The botanical descriptions and illustrations became highly valued by the English audience; the fine ...
'' and ''Florae Graecae Prodromus'', for which, however, he had done little beyond collecting some three thousand species and providing the plates. The task of preparing the works was undertaken by Sir
J.E. Smith, who issued the two volumes of the ''Prodromus'' in 1806 and 1813, and six volumes of the ''Flora Graeca'' between 1806 and 1828. The seventh appeared in 1830, after Smith's death, and the remaining three were produced by
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.
Early years
Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...
between 1833 and 1840. The work's first edition ran to a mere thirty copies and featured 966 colour plates; a supplementary volume depicting wildflowers of
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
was painted for
Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford
Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, (7 February 1766 – 14 October 1827), styled The Honourable Frederick North until 1817, was a British politician and colonial administrator.
Early life and education
North was a younger son of Prime Mini ...
, and founder of the
Ionian Academy
The Ionian Academy ( el, Ιόνιος Ακαδημία) was the first Greek academic institution established in modern times. It was located in Corfu. It was established by the French during their administration of the island as the ''département ...
, by G. Scola (or Scala), a talented botanical illustrator.
The standard
botanical author abbreviation Sibth. is applied to
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
he described.
Herbarium
His herbarium (of three collections; 2,462 'Flora Graeca' specimens, 70 'Flora Oxoniensis' specimens and 444 miscellaneous specimens) is stored within the
Fielding-Druce Herbarium of the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
Sibthorpian Chair and Professor
The
chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
of Sibthorpian Professor at the University of Oxford is named after him. Current and previous holders include
*
Nicholas Harberd (since 2007)
*
Chris J. Leaver (1990–2007)
*
David Smith (1980–1987)
*
Geoffrey Emett Blackman (1945–1980)
*
James Anderson Scott Watson
Sir James Anderson Scott Watson CBE, FRSE (16 November 1889–1966) was a 20th-century Scottish agriculturalist.
Education and early life
Watson was born on 16 November 1889 in Forfar, the son of William Watson a farmer at Downieken near Dun ...
[
* John Harrison Burnett]
* Joseph Henry Gilbert
Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert, Fellow of the Royal Society (1 August 1817 – 23 December 1901) was an English chemist, noteworthy for his long career spent improving the methods of practical agriculture. He was a fellow of the Royal Society.
Life
He ...
Personal life
Sibthorp was born in Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, the youngest son of Humphry Sibthorp (1713–1797), who, from 1747 to 1784, served as Sherardian Professor of Botany
The Sherardian Chair of Botany is a professorship at the University of Oxford that was established in 1734. It was created following an endowment by William Sherard on his death in 1728. In his will, Sherard stipulated that the first holder of th ...
at the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and his first wife Sarah Waldo.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibthorp, John
English mycologists
1758 births
1796 deaths
Botanists with author abbreviations
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
Fellows of the Royal Society
Sherardian Professors of Botany
Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
People educated at Lincoln Grammar School
People from Oxford
Tuberculosis deaths in England
18th-century deaths from tuberculosis
18th-century British botanists
18th-century English writers
18th-century English male writers