Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English
naturalist,
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 ...
, and patron of the
natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
.
Banks made his name on the
1766 natural-history expedition to
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
. He took part in Captain
James Cook's
first great voyage (1768–1771), visiting
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, and after 6 months in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, returning to immediate fame. He held the position of president 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, re ...
for over 41 years. He advised
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
on the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
, and by sending botanists around the world to
collect plants, he made Kew the world's leading botanical garden. He is credited for bringing 30,000 plant specimens home with him; amongst them, he was the first European to document 1,400.
Banks advocated
British settlement in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and the colonisation of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, as well as the establishment of
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
as a place for the
reception of convicts, and advised the British government on all Australian matters. He is credited with introducing the
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...
,
acacia, and the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
named after him, ''
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range ...
'', to the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. . Around 80 species of plants bear his name. He was the leading founder of the
African Association
The Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa (commonly known as the African Association), founded in London on 9 June 1788, was a British club dedicated to the exploration of West Africa, with the mission of discove ...
and a member of the
Society of Dilettanti
The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style.
History
Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is b ...
, which helped to establish the
Royal Academy.
Early life
![Joseph Banks as a boy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Joseph_Banks_as_a_boy.jpg)
Banks was born in
Argyll Street
Argyll Street is a road located in the Soho district of Central London. It links Great Marlborough Street to the south to Oxford Street in the north and is connected to Regent Street to the west by Little Argyll Street. Historically it was someti ...
,
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
,
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 ...
, the son of
William Banks, a wealthy
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
country
squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...
and member of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, and his wife Sarah, daughter of William Bate.
He was baptised at
St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren.
Th ...
, on 20 February 1743,
Old Style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...
. He had a younger sister,
Sarah Sophia Banks
Sarah Sophia Banks (28 October 1744 – 27 September 1818) was an English antiquarian collector and sister and collaborator of botanist Joseph Banks. She collected coins and medals and ephemera which are now historically valuable like broadshee ...
, born in 1744.
Education
Banks was educated at
Harrow School from the age of nine and then at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
from 1756; the boys with whom he attended the school included his future shipmate
Constantine Phipps.
As a boy, Banks enjoyed exploring the Lincolnshire countryside and developed a keen interest in nature, history, and botany. When he was 17, he was inoculated with
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, but he became ill and did not return to school. In late 1760, he was enrolled as a
gentleman-commoner
A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees.
Cambridge
...
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 ...
. At Oxford, he
matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
at
Christ Church, where his studies were largely focussed on natural history rather than the classical curriculum. Determined to receive botanical instruction, he paid the
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
botanist
Israel Lyons
Israel Lyons the Younger (1739–1775), mathematician and botanist, was born at Cambridge, the son of Israel Lyons the elder (died 1770). He was regarded as a prodigy, especially in mathematics, and Robert Smith, master of Trinity College, took ...
to deliver a series of lectures at Oxford in 1764.
[Gascoigne, John (2004) "Banks, Sir Joseph, baronet (1743–1820)", in '']Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, .
Banks left Oxford for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in December 1763. He continued to attend the university until 1764, but left that year without taking a degree.
[ He was, however, awarded an honorary degree by Oxford on his return from his voyage to the South Seas, see "Banks, Sir Joseph", in ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', Scribner, 1970.] His father had died in 1761, so when Banks reached the age of 21, he inherited the large estate of
Revesby Abbey
Revesby Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Revesby in Lincolnshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1143 by William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln, and the first monks came from Rievaulx Abbey.
After the Dissolution of the Mo ...
, in Lincolnshire, becoming the local squire and
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, and dividing his time between Lincolnshire and London. From his mother's house in Chelsea, he kept up his interest in science by attending the
Chelsea Physic Garden
The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the sc ...
of the
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence.
The society is a m ...
and the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, where he met
Daniel Solander
Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.
Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.
Biography
...
. He began to make friends among the scientific men of his day and to correspond with
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, the ...
, whom he came to know through Solander. As Banks's influence increased, he became an adviser to
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
and urged the monarch to support voyages of discovery to new lands, hoping to indulge his own interest in botany. He became a
Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
sometime before 1769.
Newfoundland and Labrador
In 1766, Banks was elected to the Royal Society, and in the same year, at 23, he went with Phipps aboard the frigate to Newfoundland and Labrador with a view to studying their natural history. He made his name by publishing the first
Linnean descriptions of the plants and animals of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Banks also documented 34 species of birds, including the
great auk
The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, wh ...
, which became extinct in 1844. On 7 May, he noted a large number of "penguins" swimming around the ship on the
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...
, and a specimen he collected in
Chateau Bay, Labrador, was later identified as the great auk.
[
]
''Endeavour'' voyage
Banks was appointed to a joint Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
/Royal Society scientific expedition to the South Pacific Ocean on HMS ''Endeavour'', 1768–1771. This was the first of James Cook's voyages of discovery in that region. Banks funded eight others to join him: 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 ...
naturalist Daniel Solander
Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.
Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.
Biography
...
, the Finnish naturalist Herman Spöring
Herman may refer to:
People
* Herman (name), list of people with this name
* Saint Herman (disambiguation)
* Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman
Places in the United States
* Herman, Arkansas
* Herman, Michigan
* Herman, Minn ...
(who also served as Banks' personal secretary and as a draughtsman), artists Sydney Parkinson
Sydney Parkinson (c. 1745 – 26 January 1771) was a Scottish botanical illustrator and natural history artist. He was the first European artist to visit Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. Parkinson was the first Quaker to visit New Zealand.
...
and Alexander Buchan, and four servants from his estate: James Roberts, Peter Briscoe, Thomas Richmond, and George Dorlton. In 1771, he was travelling with James Cook and docked in Simon's Town
Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern ...
in what is now South Africa. There, he met Christoffel Brand
Sir Christoffel Joseph Brand (21 June 1797 Cape Town – 19 May 1875 Cape Town) was a Cape jurist, politician, statesman and first Speaker of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope, Legislative Assembly of the Cape Colony.
Early life and edu ...
and a friendship started. He was the godfather of Brand's grandson Christoffel Brand
Sir Christoffel Joseph Brand (21 June 1797 Cape Town – 19 May 1875 Cape Town) was a Cape jurist, politician, statesman and first Speaker of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope, Legislative Assembly of the Cape Colony.
Early life and edu ...
.
The voyage went to Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, where Banks made the first scientific description of a now common garden plant, ''Bougainvillea
''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...
'' (named after Cook's French counterpart, Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolutio ...
), and to other parts of South America. The voyage then progressed to Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
(where the transit of Venus
frameless, upright=0.5
A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a trans ...
was observed,[ the overt purpose of the mission), then to New Zealand.
From there, it proceeded to the east coast of Australia, where Cook mapped the coastline and made landfall at Botany Bay, then at Round Hill (23-25 May 1770), which is now known as Seventeen Seventy and at ]Endeavour River
The Endeavour River ( Guugu Yimithirr: ''Wabalumbaal''), inclusive of the Endeavour River Right Branch, the Endeavour River South Branch, and the Endeavour River North Branch, is a river system located on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queens ...
(near modern Cooktown
Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...
) in Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, where they spent almost seven weeks ashore while the ship was repaired after becoming holed on the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
. While they were in Australia, Banks, Daniel Solander, and Finnish botanist Dr Herman Spöring Jr.
Herman Diedrich Spöring Jr. (1733–1771) was a Finnish explorer, draughtsman, botanist and a naturalist.
Early life
He was born in 1733 in the Finnish town of Turku, at that time the major Finnish city and administrative center under the ...
made the first major collection of Australian flora, describing many species new to science. Almost 800 specimens were illustrated by the artist Sydney Parkinson
Sydney Parkinson (c. 1745 – 26 January 1771) was a Scottish botanical illustrator and natural history artist. He was the first European artist to visit Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. Parkinson was the first Quaker to visit New Zealand.
...
and appear in Banks' ''Florilegium'', finally published in 35 volumes between 1980 and 1990. Notable also was that during the period when the ''Endeavour'' was being repaired, Banks observed a kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...
, first recorded as "kanguru" on 12 July 1770 in an entry in his diary.
Return home
Banks arrived back in England on 12 July 1771 and immediately became famous. He intended to go with Cook on his second voyage, which began on 13 May 1772, but difficulties arose about Banks' scientific requirements on board Cook's new ship, HMS ''Resolution''. The Admiralty regarded Banks' demands as unacceptable and without prior warning, withdrew his permission to sail. Banks immediately arranged an alternative expedition, and in July 1772, Daniel Solander and he visited the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, the Hebrides, Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, and the Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, aboard ''Sir Lawrence''. In Iceland, they ascended Mt. Hekla and visited the Great Geyser, and were the first scientific visitors to Staffa
Staffa ( gd, Stafa, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from ver ...
in the Inner Hebrides. They returned to London in November, with many botanical specimens, via Edinburgh, where Banks and Solander were interviewed by James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
. In 1773, he toured south Wales in the company of artist Paul Sandby
Paul Sandby (1731 – 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
Life and work
Sandby was ...
. When he settled in London, he began work on his ''Florilegium''. He kept in touch with most of the scientists of his time, was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
in 1773, and added a fresh interest when he was elected to the Dilettante Society in 1774. He was afterwards secretary of this society from 1778 to 1797. On 30 November 1778, he was elected president of the Royal Society
The president of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected Head of the Royal Society of London who presides over meetings of the society's council.
After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was officially founded on 28 November ...
, a position he was to hold with great distinction for over 41 years.
In March 1779, Banks married Dorothea Hugessen, daughter of W. W. Hugessen, and settled in a large house at 32 Soho Square
Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered ...
.[ It continued to be his London residence for the remainder of his life. There, he welcomed the scientists, students, and authors of his period, and many distinguished foreign visitors. His sister ]Sarah Sophia Banks
Sarah Sophia Banks (28 October 1744 – 27 September 1818) was an English antiquarian collector and sister and collaborator of botanist Joseph Banks. She collected coins and medals and ephemera which are now historically valuable like broadshee ...
lived in the house with Banks and his wife. He had as librarian and curator of his collections Solander, Jonas Carlsson Dryander
Jonas Carlsson Dryander (5 March 1748 – 19 October 1810) was a Swedish botanist.
Biography
Dryander was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was the son of Carl Leonard Dryander and Brita Maria Montin. He was a pupil of Carl Linnaeus at Uppsa ...
, and Robert Brown in succession.
Also in 1779, Banks took a lease on an estate called Spring Grove, the former residence of Elisha Biscoe (1705–1776), which he eventually bought outright from Biscoe's son, also Elisha
Elisha ( ; or "God is my salvation", Greek: , ''Elis îos'' or , ''Elisaié,'' Latin: ''Eliseus'') was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eli ...
, in 1808. The picture shows the house in 1815. Its 34 acres ran along the northern side of the London Road, Isleworth
Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...
, and contained a natural spring, which was an important attraction to him. Banks spent much time and effort on this secondary home. He steadily created a renowned botanical masterpiece on the estate, achieved primarily with many of the great variety of foreign plants he had collected on his extensive travels around the world, particularly to Australia and the South Seas. The surrounding district became known as Spring Grove.
The house was substantially extended and rebuilt by later owners and is now part of West Thames College
West Thames College is a medium-sized college of further and higher education in West London, England. It was formed in 1976, originally named Hounslow Borough College, having gained its current name in 1993. The college has two campuses in the L ...
.
Banks was made a baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in 1781, three years after being elected president of the Royal Society. During much of this time, he was an informal adviser to King George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a position that was formalised in 1797. Banks dispatched explorers and botanists to many parts of the world, and through these efforts, Kew Gardens became arguably the pre-eminent botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s in the world, with many species being introduced to Europe through them and through Chelsea Physic Garden
The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the sc ...
and their head gardener John Fairbairn. He directly fostered several famous voyages, including that of George Vancouver to the northeastern Pacific (Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
), and William Bligh
Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...
's voyages (one entailing the infamous mutiny on the ''Bounty'') to transplant breadfruit
Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...
from the South Pacific to the Caribbean islands. Banks was also a major financial supporter of William Smith (geologist), William Smith in his decade-long efforts to create a geological map of England, the first geological map of an entire country. He also chose Allan Cunningham (botanist), Allan Cunningham for voyages to Brazil and the north and northwest coasts of Australia to collect specimens.
Colonisation of New South Wales
Banks's own time in Australia, however, led to his interest in the British colonisation of that continent. He was to be the greatest proponent of settlement in New South Wales. A genus of the Proteaceae was named in his honour as ''Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range ...
''. In 1779, Banks, giving evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, had stated that in his opinion the place most eligible for the reception of Convictism in Australia, convicts "was Botany Bay, on the coast of New Holland (Australia), New Holland", on the general grounds that, "it was not to be doubted that a Tract of Land such as New Holland, which was larger than the whole of Europe, would furnish Matter of advantageous Return".
Although Banks remained uninvolved in these colonies in a hands on manner, he was, nonetheless, the general adviser to the government on all Australian matters for twenty years. He arranged that a large number of useful trees and plants should be sent out in the supply ship , which was unfortunately wrecked, as well as other ships; many of these were supplied by Hugh Ronalds from his nursery in Brentford. Every vessel that came from New South Wales brought plants or animals or geological and other specimens to Banks. He was continually called on for help in developing the agriculture and trade of the colony, and his influence was used in connection with the sending out of early free settlers, one of whom, a young gardener George Suttor, later wrote a memoir of Banks. The three earliest governors of the colony, Arthur Phillip, John Hunter (Royal Navy officer), John Hunter, and Philip Gidley King, were in continual correspondence with him. Banks produced a significant body of papers, including one of the earliest Aboriginal Australian words lists compiled by a European. Bligh was also appointed governor of New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
on Banks's recommendation. Banks followed the explorations of Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and Lieutenant James Grant (navigator), James Grant, and among his paid helpers were George Caley, Robert Brown, and Allan Cunningham.
However, Banks backed William Bligh
Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...
to be installed as the new governor of New South Wales and to crack down on the New South Wales Corps (or Rum Corps), which made a fortune on the trading of rum. This brought him in direct confrontation with post-Rum Rebellion ''de facto'' leaders such as John Macarthur (wool pioneer), John Macarthur and George Johnston (British Marines officer), George Johnston. This backing led to the Rum Rebellion in Sydney, whereby the governor was overthrown by the two men. This became an embarrassment for Sir Joseph Banks, also, because years earlier, he campaigned that John Macarthur not be granted of land near Sydney in the cow pastures, which was later granted by Lord Camden. The next governor, Lachlan Macquarie, was asked to arrest Macarthur and Johnston, only to realise that they had left Sydney for London to defend themselves. He was humiliated that Macarthur and Johnston were acquitted from all charges in London and both later returned to Sydney.
Later life
Banks met the young Alexander von Humboldt in 1790, when Banks was already the president of the Royal Society. Before Humboldt and his scientific travel companion and collaborator Aimé Bonpland left for what became a five-year journal of exploration and discovery, Humboldt requested a British passport for Bonpland, should the two encounter British warships. On their travels, Humboldt arranged for specimens be sent to Banks, should they be seized by the British. Banks and Humboldt remained in touch until Banks's death, aiding Humboldt by mobilising his wide network of scientific contacts to forward information to the great German scientist. Both men believed in the internationalism of science.
Banks was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1787 and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1788. Among other activities, Banks found time to serve as a trustee of the British Museum for 42 years. He was high sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1794.
He worked with Sir George Leonard Staunton, George Staunton in producing the official account of the British mission to the Chinese Imperial court. This diplomatic and trade mission was headed by George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, George, Earl Macartney. Although the Macartney Embassy returned to London without obtaining any concession from China, the mission could have been termed a success because it brought back detailed observations. This multivolume work was taken chiefly from the papers of Lord Macartney and from the papers of Sir Erasmus Gower, who was commander of the expedition. Banks was responsible for selecting and arranging engraving of the illustrations in this official record.
Banks was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Bath (KB) on 1 July 1795, which became Knight Grand Cross (GCB) when the order was restructured in 1815.
Banks was a large landowner and activist encloser, drainer and ‘improver’ in The Fens, Fens at Revesby, Lincolnshire, Revesby.
Banks's health began to fail early in the 19th century and he suffered from gout every winter. After 1805, he practically lost the use of his legs and had to be wheeled to his meetings in a chair, but his mind remained as vigorous as ever. He had been a member of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Society of Antiquaries nearly all his life, and he developed an interest in archaeology in his later years. In 1807, William Kerr (gardener), William Kerr named the Lady Banks climbing rose after Banks's wife. Banks was made an honorary founding member of the Wernerian Natural History Society of Edinburgh in 1808. In 1809, he became associated member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Royal Institute of the Netherlands. In 1809, his friend Alexander Henry the elder, Alexander Henry dedicated his travel book to him. In May 1820, he forwarded his resignation as president of the Royal Society, but withdrew it at the request of the council. In 1819, Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen on his First Russian Antarctic Expedition, briefly stopped in England and met Joseph Banks. Banks had sailed with James Cook 50 years earlier and supplied the Russians with books and charts for their expedition. He died on 19 June 1820 in Spring Grove House, Isleworth, London, and was buried at St Leonard's Church, Heston. Lady Banks survived him, but they had no children.
Legacy
Banks was a major supporter of the internationalist nature of science, being actively involved both in keeping open the lines of communication with continental scientists during the Napoleonic Wars, and in introducing the British people to the wonders of the wider world. He was honoured with many place names in the South Pacific: Banks Peninsula on the South Island, New Zealand; the Banks Islands in modern-day Vanuatu; the Banks Strait between Tasmania and the Furneaux Islands; Banks Island in the Northwest Territories, Canada; and the Sir Joseph Banks Group in South Australia.
The Canberra suburb of Banks, Australian Capital Territory, Banks, the electoral Division of Banks, and the Sydney suburbs of Bankstown, New South Wales, Bankstown, Banksia, New South Wales, Banksia, and Banksmeadow are all named after him, as is the northern headland of Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
, Cape Banks.
An image of Banks was featured on the paper $5 Banknotes of the Australian dollar, Australian banknote from its introduction in 1967 before it was replaced by the later polymer currency.
In 1986, Banks was honoured by his portrait being depicted on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post.
In Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, England, the Sir Joseph Banks Conservatory was constructed in 1989 at The Lawn, Lincoln; its tropical Greenhouse, hot house had numerous plants related to Banks's voyages, with samples from across the world, including Australia. The conservatory was moved to Woodside Wildlife Park in 2016 and has been named 'Endeavour'. A plaque was installed in Lincoln Cathedral in his honour. In Boston, Lincolnshire, Banks was recorder for the town. His portrait, painted in 1814 by Thomas Phillips, was commissioned by the Corporation of Boston, as a tribute to one whose 'judicious and active exertions improved and enriched this borough and neighbourhood'. It cost them 100 guineas. The portrait is now hanging in the Council Chamber of the Boston Guildhall, Guildhall Museum.
The Sir Joseph Banks Centre is located in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, housed in a Grade II listed building, which was recently restored by the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire to celebrate Banks' life. Horncastle is located a few miles from Banks' Revesby estate and the naturalist was the town's lord of the manor. The centre is located on Bridge Street. It boasts research facilities, historic links to Australia, and a garden in which rare plants can be viewed and purchased.
Situated in the Sydney suburb of Revesby, New South Wales, Revesby, Sir Joseph Banks High School is a NSW government school named after Banks.
At the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show, an exhibition garden celebrated the historic link between Banks and the botanical discoveries of flora and fauna on his journey through South America, Tahiti, New Zealand, and eventually Australia on Captain Cook's ship ''Endeavour''. The competition garden was the entry of Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens with an Australian theme. It was based on the metaphorical journey of water through the continent, related to the award-winning Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne. The design won a gold medal.
In 1911, London County Council marked Banks' house at 32 Soho Square with a blue plaque. This was replaced in 1938 with a rectangular stone plaque commemorating Banks and botanists David Don and Robert Brown and meetings of the Linnean Society.
Banks appears in the historical novel ''Mutiny on the Bounty (novel), Mutiny on the Bounty'', by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. He appears briefly as a contact with British naval intelligence in the historical novel Post Captain (novel), ''Post Captain'', from the Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. He is also featured in Elizabeth Gilbert's 2013 best-selling novel, ''The Signature of All Things'', and is a major character in Martin Davies' 2005 novel ''The Conjuror's Bird''.
A secondary school opened in Perth, Western Australia in 2015 named Joseph Banks Secondary College.
Dispersal of Banks papers
Following Banks's death in 1820 a "treasure-trove of letters and papers"[Matthew Fishburn]
The book that Joseph Banks burned
sl.nsw.gov.au; first published in ''SL Magazine'', Summer 2017–18. Retrieved 26 September 2022. was passed to Sir Edward Knatchbull, his wife's nephew. In 1828 the latter passed bound volumes of foreign correspondence to the British Library but retained the rest of the papers in the expectation that an official biography would be written.[Papers of Sir Joseph Banks](_blank)
nla.gov.au. Retrieved 26 September 2022. After the death of Knatchbull and his wife, the letters and papers were passed on to their son Edward Knatchbull Hugesson, 1st Baron Brabourne, who offered to sell them to the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. However, in 1884 it declined to purchase them. Following that "notorious" decision the Agent General of New South Wales, Saul Samuel, Sir Saul Samuel, issued instructions for the purchase of a large portion of the papers, which now form part of the State Library of New South Wales's Brabourne Collection. The "large quantities of papers" which remained were then auctioned off at Sotheby's in London in March and April 1886. One of the successful bidders was Edward Petherick, E. A. Petherick. Many of those are now in the Petherick Collection at the National Library of Australia. During the twentieth century the National Library continued to purchase Banks's letters and papers when they came on the market.
Online archive
In his ''Endeavour'' journal, Banks recorded 30 years of his life. Letters, invoices, maps, regalia, and watercolour drawings have now been digitised on the State Library of New South Wales, State Library of NSW website. This rich research and educational tool accesses 8800 high-quality digital images.
See also
* European and American voyages of scientific exploration
* List of Freemasons, List of Notable Freemasons
* History of Australia
References
Cited sources
*
Further reading
Primary resources
Sutro Library
a branch of the California State Library
Sir Joseph Banks Collection, 1770-1812.
*State Library of New South Wales. Papers of Sir Joseph Banks an
The ''Endeavour'' Journal of Joseph Banks, 1768–1771
*National Library of Australia (NLA)
Papers of Sir Joseph Banks
*Royal Geographical Society of South Australia]
Journal of a voyage to Newfoundland and Labrador commencing 7 April and ending 17 November 1766
* Notebooks containing vocabularies of Tahitian languages and observations collected by Banks are held b
SOAS Special Collections
Digitised items from the collection are available to view onlin
here
Secondary resources
* Cameron, H. C. (1952) ''Sir Joseph Banks, K.B., P.R.S.; the Autocrat of the Philosophers'', Batchworth Press.
*Carter, H. B. (1964) ''His Majesty's Spanish Flock: Sir Joseph Banks and the Merinos of '', University of Sydney.
* Carter, Harold Burnell (1988) ''Sir Joseph Banks, 1743–1820'' London: Natural History Museum, London, British Museum of Natural History ;
*
*Dawson, W. R. (ed) (1958) ''The Banks Letters'', University of London.
* Durt, Tania (2007) "Joseph Banks", pp. 173–181 in ''The Great Naturalists'', edited by Robert Huxley. London: Thames & Hudson with the Natural History Museum.
* Fara, Patricia (2004) ''Sex, Botany & Empire: The Story Of Carl Linnaeus And Joseph Banks.'' New York: Columbia University Press
* Gascoigne, John (1994) ''Joseph Banks and the English Enlightenment: Useful Knowledge and Polite Culture'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
* Gascoigne, John (1998) ''Science in the Service of Empire: Joseph Banks, The British State and the Uses of Science in the Age of Revolution.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
*, Volume I
Volume II-III
* Kryza, Frank T. (207) ''The Race to Timbuktu: In Search of Africa's City of Gold.'' New York: HarperCollins
*Lysaght, A. M. (1971). Joseph Banks in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1766; his diary, manuscripts, and collections. Faber and Faber, London. ;
*Mackaness, G. (1936) ''Sir Joseph Banks. His Relations with Australia'', University of Sydney
*Maiden, J. H. (1909) Sir Joseph Banks: The “Father of Australia”. Kegan Paul.
*
* Patrick O'Brian, O'Brian, Patrick 1993 ''Joseph Banks: A Life.'' London: David R. Godine, 1993. , reprinted by University of Chicago Press, 1997
* ——— 1987 ''Sir Joseph Banks'' London: Harvill Press.
* Smith, Edward (1911) Life of Sir Joseph Banks: With Some Notices of his Friends and Contemporaries. John Lane.
Select unpublished monographs
* Duncan, A. (1821) ''A Short Account of the Life of the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks'', University of Edinburgh.
* Lionel Gilbert, Gilbert, L. (1962) ''Botanical Investigation of Eastern Seaboard Australia, 1788–1810'', B.A. thesis, University of New England, Australia.
Fiction
Novels based on a mix of historical fact and conjecture about Banks' early life include:
* Davies, Martin (2005) ''The Conjurer's Bird'' New York: Shaye Areheart/Random House.
External links
*
Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks during Captain Cook's first voyage in H.M.S. Endeavour in 1768–71 to Terra del Fuego, Otahite, New Zealand, Australia, the Dutch East Indies, etc.
Joseph Banks and J. D. Hooker. Macmillan, 1896.
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
''Correspondence concerning Iceland: written to Sir Joseph Banks''
1772–1818, from the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
* Lovell, Jennifer.
" ''National Library of Australia News'' 15.7 (April 2005).
* Sir Joseph Banks Society.
Archive of Joseph Banks related material
* British Museum
Bronze portrait bust of Sir Joseph Banks by Anne Seymour Damer
(1814)
* BBC
Historic figures
BBC Radio 4
Science at Sea
*
Papers of Sir Joseph Banks
– State Library of New South Wales
William Bligh's letters to Sir Joseph Banks
concerning the first Breadfruit Expedition
Sir Joseph Banks papers (MS 58)
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Joseph
English botanists
English explorers
English naturalists
1743 births
1820 deaths
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain, Banks, Joseph, 1st Baronet
Botanical collectors active in Australia
Botanists active in New Zealand
Botanists active in North America
Botanists active in South America
Botanists active in the Pacific
English explorers of the Pacific
Explorers of Australia
Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Soho Square
Trustees of the British Museum
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
People educated at Eton College
People educated at Harrow School
18th-century British botanists
18th-century English people
18th-century explorers
People from East Lindsey District
James Cook
People from Soho
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities