Sir Joseph Banks | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1743-02-24)24 February 1743(13 February O.S.) 30Argyll Street, London, England |
| Died | 19 June 1820(1820-06-19) (aged 77) Spring Grove House,Isleworth, London, England |
| Alma mater | Christ Church,Oxford |
| Known for | Voyage ofHMSEndeavour, exploration of Botany Bay |
| Spouse | Dorothea Banks |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Institutions | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Banks |
| 21st President of the Royal Society | |
| In office 1778–1820 | |
| Preceded by | Sir John Pringle |
| Succeeded by | William Hyde Wollaston |
| Signature | |
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Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet,GCB, FRS (24 February [O.S. 13 February] 1743 – 19 June 1820[1]) was an Englishnaturalist, botanist, and patron of thenatural sciences.[2]
Banks made his name on the1766 natural-history expedition toNewfoundland and Labrador. He took part in CaptainJames Cook'sfirst great voyage (1768–1771), visiting Brazil, Tahiti, and after 6 months in New Zealand, Australia, returning to immediate fame. He held the position of president of theRoyal Society for over 41 years. He advisedKing George III on theRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, sending botanists around the world tocollect 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.[3]
Banks advocatedBritish settlement inNew South Wales and the colonisation of Australia, as well as the establishment ofBotany Bay as a place for thereception of convicts, and advised the British government on all Australian matters. He is credited with introducing theeucalyptus,acacia, and thegenus named after him,Banksia, to theWestern world. Around 80 species of plants bear his name. He was the leading founder of theAfrican Association and a member of theSociety of Dilettanti, which helped to establish theRoyal Academy.
Banks was born inArgyll Street,Soho,London, the son ofWilliam Banks, a wealthyLincolnshire countrysquire and member of theHouse of Commons, and his wife Sarah, daughter of William Bate.[2] He was baptised atSt James's Church, Piccadilly, on 20 February 1743,Old Style.[5] He had a younger sister,Sarah Sophia Banks, born in 1744.[6]
Banks was educated atHarrow School from the age of nine and then atEton College from 1756; the boys with whom he attended the school included his future shipmateConstantine Phipps.[4]
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 withsmallpox, but he became ill and did not return to school. In late 1760, he was enrolled as agentleman-commoner at theUniversity of Oxford. At Oxford, hematriculated atChrist Church, where his studies were largely focussed on natural history rather than the classical curriculum. Determined to receive botanical instruction, he paid theCambridge botanistIsrael Lyons to deliver a series of lectures at Oxford in 1764.[7]
Banks left Oxford forChelsea in December 1763. He continued to attend the university until 1764, but left that year without taking a degree.[8] His father had died in 1761, so when Banks reached the age of 21, he inherited the large estate ofRevesby Abbey, in Lincolnshire, becoming the local squire andmagistrate, and dividing his time between Lincolnshire and London. From his mother's house in Chelsea, he kept up his interest in science by attending theChelsea Physic Garden of theWorshipful Society of Apothecaries and theBritish Museum, where he met the Swedish naturalistDaniel Solander. He began to make friends among the scientific men of his day and to correspond withCarl Linnaeus, whom he came to know through Solander. As Banks's influence increased, he became an adviser toKing George III and urged the monarch to support voyages of discovery to new lands, hoping to indulge his own interest in botany. He became aFreemason sometime before 1769.[9]
In 1766, Banks was elected to the Royal Society, and in the same year, at 23, he went with Phipps aboard the frigateHMS Niger to Newfoundland and Labrador with a view to studying their natural history. He made his name by publishing the firstLinnean descriptions of the plants and animals of Newfoundland and Labrador.[10][11] Banks also documented 34 species of birds, including thegreat auk, which became extinct in 1844. On 7 May, he noted a large number of "penguins" swimming around the ship on theGrand Banks, and a specimen he collected inChateau Bay, Labrador, was later identified as the great auk.[12]
Banks was appointed to a jointRoyal Navy/Royal Society scientific expedition to the South Pacific Ocean onHMSEndeavour, 1768–1771. This was the first of James Cook's voyages of discovery in that region. Banks funded eight others to join him: theSwedishnaturalistDaniel Solander, the Finnish naturalistHerman Spöring (who also served as Banks's personal secretary and as a draughtsman), artistsSydney Parkinson andAlexander Buchan, and four servants from his estate: James Roberts, Peter Briscoe, Thomas Richmond, and George Dorlton.[15][16] In 1771, he was travelling with James Cook and docked inSimon's Town in what is now South Africa. There, he met the traderChristoffel Brand and a friendship started. He was the godfather of Brand's grandsonChristoffel Brand.[citation needed]
The voyage went toBrazil, where Banks made the first scientific description of a now common garden plant,Bougainvillea (named after Cook's French counterpart,Louis Antoine de Bougainville), and to other parts of South America. The voyage then progressed toTahiti (where thetransit of Venus was observed,[17] 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. The ship then landed at Round Hill (23–25 May 1770), which is now known asSeventeen Seventy and atEndeavour River (near modernCooktown) inQueensland, where they spent almost seven weeks ashore while the ship was repaired after becoming holed on theGreat Barrier Reef.[11] While they were in Australia, Banks, Daniel Solander, and Finnish botanist DrHerman Spöring Jr. made the first major collection of Australian flora, describing many species new to science. Almost 800 specimens were illustrated by the artistSydney Parkinson and appear inBanks'Florilegium, finally published in 35 volumes between 1980 and 1990. Notable also was that during the period when theEndeavour was being repaired, Banks observed akangaroo, first recorded as "kanguru" on 12 July 1770 in an entry in his diary.[citation needed]
Banks arrived back in England on 12 July 1771. He had intended to go with Cook on hissecond voyage, which began on 13 May 1772, but difficulties arose about Banks's scientific requirements on board Cook's new ship,HMSResolution. The Admiralty regarded Banks's demands as unacceptable and withdrew his permission to sail. Banks immediately arranged an alternative expedition, and in July 1772, Daniel Solander and he visited theIsle of Wight, the Hebrides,Iceland, and theOrkney Islands,[11] aboardSir Lawrence. In Iceland, they ascendedMt. Hekla and visited theGreat Geyser, and were the first scientific visitors toStaffa in the Inner Hebrides.[18] They returned to London in November, with many botanical specimens, via Edinburgh, where Banks and Solander were interviewed byJames Boswell.[19] In 1773, he toured south Wales in the company of artistPaul Sandby.[20]
Banks settled in London and began work on hisFlorilegium. He kept in touch with most of the scientists of his time, was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1773.[citation needed] Banks was appointed as an informal director to theRoyal Botanic Gardens Kew byGeorge III in 1773. Banks sent the first Kew plant hunters around the world, includingFrancis Masson,Allan Cunningham andJames Bowie.[21] Banks 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 electedpresident of the Royal Society,[11] a position he was to hold with great distinction for over 41 years.
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In March 1779, Banks marriedDorothea Hugessen, daughter of W. W. Hugessen, and settled in a large house at 32Soho Square.[17] 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 sisterSarah Sophia Banks lived in the house with Banks and his wife. He had as librarian and curator of his collections Solander,Jonas Carlsson Dryander, andRobert Brown in succession.[22] Also in 1779, Banks took a lease on an estate called Spring Grove, the former residence of Elisha Biscoe (1705–1776),[23] which he eventually bought outright from Biscoe's son, alsoElisha, in 1808. Its 34 acres ran along the northern side of the London Road,Isleworth, 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 asSpring Grove.[24] The house was substantially extended and rebuilt by later owners and is now part ofWest Thames College.[25]
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Banks was made abaronet in 1781,[11][26] three years after being elected president of the Royal Society. During much of this time, he was an informal adviser to King George III and his position at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew was formalised in 1797. Banks continued to dispatch explorers and botanists to many parts of the world, and through these efforts, Kew Gardens became arguably the pre-eminentbotanical garden in the world, with many species being introduced to Europe through them and throughChelsea Physic Garden and their head gardener John Fairbairn. He directly fostered several famous voyages, including that ofGeorge Vancouver to the northeastern Pacific (Pacific Northwest), andWilliam Bligh's voyages (one entailing the infamousmutiny on theBounty) to transplantbreadfruit from the South Pacific to the Caribbean islands. Banks was also a major financial supporter ofWilliam Smith in his decade-long efforts to create a geological map of England, the first geological map of an entire country. He also choseAllan Cunningham for voyages to Brazil and the north and northwest coasts of Australia to collect specimens.[27]
Banks's own time in Australia, however, led to his interest in the Britishcolonisation of that continent. He was to be the greatest proponent of settlement in New South Wales. A genus of theProteaceae was named in his honour asBanksia.[11] 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 ofconvicts "was Botany Bay, on the coast ofNew 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".[28]
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 shipHMS Guardian, which was unfortunately wrecked, as well as other ships; many of these were supplied byHugh Ronalds from his nursery inBrentford.[29] Every vessel that came from New South Wales brought to Banks plants or animals or geological and other specimens and, on at least one occasion, human remains. GovernorPhilip Gidley King sent Banks the severed head of an Aboriginal man namedPemulwuy that Banks had seemingly listed as among his "desiderata."[30]
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 gardenerGeorge Suttor, later wrote a memoir of Banks. The three earliest governors of the colony,Arthur Phillip,John Hunter, andPhilip 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.[31] Bligh was also appointed governor ofNew South Wales on Banks's recommendation. Banks followed the explorations ofMatthew Flinders,George Bass, and LieutenantJames Grant, and among his paid helpers wereGeorge Caley, Robert Brown, and Allan Cunningham.[citation needed]
However, Banks backedWilliam Bligh to be installed as the new governor of New South Wales and to crack down on theNew South Wales Corps (or Rum Corps), which made a fortune on the trading of rum. This brought him in direct confrontation with post-Rum Rebellionde facto leaders such asJohn Macarthur andGeorge Johnston. This backing led to theRum 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 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) 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.[citation needed]
Banks met the youngAlexander von Humboldt in 1790, when Banks was already the president of the Royal Society.[32] Before Humboldt and his scientific travel companion and collaboratorAimé 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.[33] On their travels, Humboldt arranged for specimens be sent to Banks, should they be seized by the British.[34] 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.[35] Both men believed in the internationalism of science.
Banks was elected a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1787[36] and a foreign honorary member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1788.[37] Among other activities, Banks found time to serve as a trustee of the British Museum for 42 years.[38] He washigh sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1794.
He worked with SirGeorge Staunton in producing the official account of the British mission to theChinese Imperial court. This diplomatic and trade mission was headed byGeorge, Earl Macartney. Although theMacartney 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 SirErasmus Gower, who was commander of the expedition. Banks was responsible for selecting and arranging engraving of the illustrations in this official record.[39]
Banks was invested as aKnight of the Order of the Bath (KB) on 1 July 1795,[40] which becameKnight Grand Cross (GCB) when the order was restructured in 1815.[41]
Banks was a large landowner and activist encloser, drainer and ‘improver’ inFens atRevesby.[42]
Banks's health began to fail early in the 19th century and he suffered fromgout[11] 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 theSociety of Antiquaries nearly all his life, and he developed an interest in archaeology in his later years. In 1807,William Kerr named the Lady Banks climbing rose after Banks's wife.[43] Banks was made an honorary founding member of theWernerian Natural History Society ofEdinburgh in 1808. In 1809, he became associated member of theRoyal Institute of the Netherlands.[44] In 1809, his friendAlexander 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 hisFirst Russian Antarctic Expedition, briefly stopped in England and met Joseph Banks. Banks had sailed withJames Cook 50 years earlier and supplied the Russians with books and charts for their expedition.[45] He died on 19 June 1820 in Spring Grove House, Isleworth, London, and was buried atSt Leonard's Church, Heston.[46] Lady Banks survived him, but they had no children.[11]
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 theNapoleonic 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 theSouth Island, New Zealand; theBanks Islands in modern-dayVanuatu; the Banks Strait betweenTasmania and theFurneaux Islands;Banks Island in theNorthwest Territories, Canada; and theSir Joseph Banks Group in South Australia.[47]
TheCanberra suburb ofBanks, the electoralDivision of Banks, and the Sydney suburbs ofBankstown,Banksia, andBanksmeadow are all named after him, as is the northern headland ofBotany Bay, Cape Banks.[citation needed] A number of schools and colleges are also named after him, including the Sir Joseph Banks High School in the Sydney suburb ofRevesby,[48] and theJoseph Banks Secondary College opened inPerth, Western Australia in 2015.[49]
An image of Banks was featured on the paper $5Australian banknote from its introduction in 1967 before it was replaced by the later polymer currency.[50]
In 1986, Banks was honoured by his portrait being depicted on a postage stamp issued byAustralia Post.[51]
InLincoln, England, theSir Joseph Banks Conservatory was constructed in 1989 atThe Lawn, Lincoln; its tropicalhot 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 inLincoln Cathedral in his honour. InBoston, Lincolnshire, Banks was recorder for the town. His portrait, painted in 1814 byThomas 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 theGuildhall Museum.[52]
The Sir Joseph Banks Centre is located inHorncastle, Lincolnshire, housed in a Grade IIlisted building, which was recently restored by the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire to celebrate Banks's life. Horncastle is located a few miles from Banks's 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.[citation needed]
At the 2011Chelsea 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 shipEndeavour. The competition garden was the entry ofMelbourne'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 theRoyal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne. The design won a gold medal.[53]
In 1911,London County Council marked Banks's house at 32 Soho Square with ablue plaque. This was replaced in 1938 with a rectangular stone plaque commemorating Banks and botanistsDavid Don andRobert Brown and meetings of theLinnean Society.[54]
Banks appears in the historical novelMutiny on the Bounty, byCharles Nordhoff andJames Norman Hall. He appears briefly as a contact with British naval intelligence in the historical novelPost Captain, from theAubrey–Maturin series byPatrick O'Brian. He is also featured inElizabeth Gilbert's 2013 best-selling novel,The Signature of All Things, and is a major character in Martin Davies' 2005 novelThe Conjuror's Bird.
Banks's life and influence were explored in a documentary five-part television seriesThe Lost World of Joseph Banks in 2016.[55]
Banks's account of theEndeavour's approach to Botany Bay might have been the basis for theinvisible ships myth.[56][57]
Herbarium specimens collected by Banks and Solander are cared for in herbaria, including at theNational Herbarium of Victoria (MEL),Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.[58]
Following Banks's death in 1820 a "treasure-trove of letters and papers"[60] was passed toSir 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.[61] 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 theBritish Museum.[61] However, in 1884 it declined to purchase them.[60] Following that "notorious"[60] decision the Agent General of New South Wales,Sir Saul Samuel, issued instructions for the purchase of a large portion of the papers, which now form part of theState Library of New South Wales's Brabourne Collection.[62] The "large quantities of papers" which remained were then auctioned off at Sotheby's in London in March and April 1886.[60] One of the successful bidders wasE. A. Petherick. Many of those are now in the Petherick Collection at theNational Library of Australia.[63] During the twentieth century the National Library continued to purchase Banks's letters and papers when they came on the market.
In hisEndeavour journal, Banks recorded 30 years of his life. Letters, invoices, maps, regalia, and watercolour drawings have now been digitised on theState Library of NSW website. This rich research and educational tool provides access to 8800 high-quality digital images.[64]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)Novels based on a mix of historical fact and conjecture about Banks's early life include:
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| New creation | Baronet (of Revesby Abbey) 1781–1820 | Extinct |
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| Preceded by | 21stPresident of the Royal Society 1778–1820 | Succeeded by |
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