The son of a landowner, Joseph Banks developed his passion for the outdoors into a lifelong pursuit as an explorer, botanist, and naturalist. At age 17, upon learning that he was unable to study botany at Oxford, he chose instead to pursue this passion with a private tutor. The rest is history.

 

At 20, Banks joined Captain James Cook's first voyage onboard the HMS Endeavor that lasted three years with stops in Brazil, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Australia. He rounded up a team of eight men, including his friend, Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander and took over 150 books, microscopes, and telescopes to aid in collecting and drawing botanical specimens.

 

Three years later Joseph Banks boarded the frigate HMS Niger to Newfoundland and Labrador, and in 1772 headed for Iceland. Upon his return, Banks was appointed by King George III appointed to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. By 1777, he became president of the Royal Society of London, serving the longest term in its 350-year history. His most known publications include “Short Account of the Cause of the Disease in Corn called the Blight, the Mildew and the Rust” (1803) and “Circumstances relative to Merino Sheep” (1809).

 

In 1781, he was knighted. My cursory research reveals that Sir Joseph Banks is known as the first person to introduce the Western world to acacia, mimosa, and eucalyptus. Banksiae, a genus that includes 80 species of plants, is named after him. In fact, the Lady Banks rose, Rosa banksiae, is named in honor of his wife, Dorothea Hugessen, whom he married in 1779.

These few tidbits of trivia offer just a glimpse into the intriguing life of the botanist, Sir Joseph Banks. A newly released 368-page book, “The Multifarious Mr. Banks” by Toby Musgrave, recently reviewed in The Wall Street Journal, is already tempting me to learn more.