Banks, Sir Joseph (1743-1820), a wealthy naturalist and patron of science, won fame for his involvement in the British colonization of Australia. He also helped develop what became Kew Gardens, also called the Royal Botanic Gardens, in the town of Richmond (now part of London). This park now contains one of the world’s largest collections of trees, shrubs, and hothouse plants.
In 1768, Banks financed and led a group of scientists who sailed aboard Captain James Cook’s ship H.M.S. Endeavour to the Pacific island of Tahiti. The group included the Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander. When the Endeavour anchored off Australia in 1770, Banks and his team encountered many plant specimens unknown to Europeans, including the shrub named banksia in his honor. Cook named the area where these discoveries were made Botany Bay.
After returning to England, Banks advised King George III on enlarging and organizing the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Banks sent naturalists all over the world to collect plants for the gardens. He suggested the planting of tea in India and the introduction of breadfruit to the Caribbean region. Banks also promoted the use of natural rubber. He discovered the Scottish island of Staffa in 1772. From 1778 to 1820, Banks served as president of the Royal Society, an organization that promotes the natural sciences.
Banks was born in London on Feb. 13, 1743. At the age of 21, he inherited a large fortune and a family estate in Revesby, Lincolnshire. He died on June 19, 1820.
See also Cook, James; Kew Gardens.
