Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911)
Joseph Hooker trained as a doctor in Edinburgh, but his principal
interest was in botany. Between 1839 and 1843, he travelled
as assistant surgeon and botanist on HMS Erebus, visiting many
places including Madeira, the Cape of South Africa and the Antarctic.
Subsequently, he journeyed through northern India and Nepal (1848-51),
surveying the flora there and sending back specimens to Kew. Among
them were many previously unknown species of rhododendron, some
of which can be seen in Kew's Rhododendron Dell. His book The Rhododendrons
of Sikkim-Himalaya was followed by two volumes of Himalayan Journals
and The Flora of British India.
In 1865, he succeeded his father Sir William Hooker as the Director
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His contributions to
the Gardens included the T-Range glasshouses (since superseded
by the Princess of Wales Conservatory), the first Jodrell Laboratory
and the Order Beds, where the plants are arranged according to
the Bentham-Hooker classification. Also during his regime, the
artist Marianne North donated hundreds of her paintings of wild
plants from around the world and provided a gallery to house them.
Sir Joseph Hooker retired from Kew in 1885 and his role as Director
was taken by his son-in-law, William Thiselton-Dyer (1843-1928).
Further information
A wealth of further information can be found at www.jdhooker.org.uk
There are several portraits of Sir Joseph Hooker in the collections
of the National Portrait Gallery.
A speciel editon of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society which celebrates Hooker's life and which marks the centenary of his death is available online.
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