Sir Joseph Banks: Botanist

Sir Joseph Banks was born in London on February 13th, 1743. Banks had lot's of different interests. When Banks was younger he loved to wander in the woods, meadows, and the stream banks around his boy hood home. As Banks grew older he went to school. At an early age he had a personal teacher come to his home which was in Revesby Lincolnshire and was sent to a school called Harrow School at the age of nine. Banks also went to other schools as he got older, such as Eton where he taught himself botany, and at Oxford where he joined and probably helped found the Botanical Club, The Fossil Club, and the Antiquarian's Club.

James Cook, one of Banks good friends, was a Lt. of the Royal Navy. He was commanded to take command of the 368 ton ship named the Endeavour, and to sail it to the south pacific and Tahiti. Banks and Cook were out on the ocean for at least 4 long years exploring new and different continents. Banks enlarged the wests knowledge of existing plants by 25%! While Banks was sailing with Cook the Endeavor ran aground on the great barrier reef on the island of Tahiti. Banks collected about 300 plant species, as well as fish, birds, and insects, which was a great accomplishment for the amount of time they were there. Then the artists went on to sketching and mounting all of them so everyone in London would know what Banks saw. Banks didn't just take stuff from the island he also brought watermelons, oranges, lemons, limes, those seeds and the others that he got from Rio de Janeiro. Banks accomplished this July 4, 1769. When he accomplished that Banks did what later scientists would call an antipodean exchange, the movement of plants and animals all around the world.

When Banks got back in England in July of1771 he had brought 30,000 different plants and animals and every single one of them had been drawn and preserved just waiting to be classified and cataloged. After Banks was done sailing around collecting plants and animals he spent most of the rest of his life with the Royal Society. In 1778 Banks was elected president of the group which had once been held by Sir Isaac Newton. Banks also participated in the supervision of the colonization of New South Wales. Banks took a lot of cuttings of the plants he collected and named, to insure the species would survive.

Banks lived to a ripe old age of 77. He spent his life discovering plants and animals of all kinds. He died on June 19, 1820.

Pictures of Sir Joseph Banks

See Sir Joseph's Life Map

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