British Naturalist, Patron of Science. He acquired a passion for botany while a student at Oxford, and after inheriting his father's fortune he devoted himself exclusively to the science. Banks was Botanist on Captain James Cook's first South Seas expediton (1768 to 1771), and in 1772 he ventured to Iceland. As President of the Royal Society from 1778 until his death, he commissioned many important scientific ventures and personally financed the voyage of the HMS Bounty, under Commander William Bligh, in 1787. After the infamous mutiny on that ship he vigorously defended Bligh and later recommended his appointment as Governor of New South Wales (which led to another notorious incident, the Rum Rebellion of 1808). Banks is credited with the introduction to the West of the eucalyptus, acacia, and mimosa, and over 75 species bear his name. He was knighted in 1781. In his will he stipulated that he be buried without ceremony and that no monument be raised to his memory. Nevertheless a memorial to Banks was unveiled in Lincoln Cathedral in 2001.
British Naturalist, Patron of Science. He acquired a passion for botany while a student at Oxford, and after inheriting his father's fortune he devoted himself exclusively to the science. Banks was Botanist on Captain James Cook's first South Seas expediton (1768 to 1771), and in 1772 he ventured to Iceland. As President of the Royal Society from 1778 until his death, he commissioned many important scientific ventures and personally financed the voyage of the HMS Bounty, under Commander William Bligh, in 1787. After the infamous mutiny on that ship he vigorously defended Bligh and later recommended his appointment as Governor of New South Wales (which led to another notorious incident, the Rum Rebellion of 1808). Banks is credited with the introduction to the West of the eucalyptus, acacia, and mimosa, and over 75 species bear his name. He was knighted in 1781. In his will he stipulated that he be buried without ceremony and that no monument be raised to his memory. Nevertheless a memorial to Banks was unveiled in Lincoln Cathedral in 2001.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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See more Banks memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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