The Life of Sir Joseph Banks

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), as a naturalist, accompanied Captain James Cook on expeditions to Australia and Tahiti, where he cataloged new species of plants and animals. He subsidized botanists and explorers all over the world; his natural history collections were at the service of everybody; he made Kew Gardens the botanical Mecca. As an explorer, he helped chart sea passages along the coast of Canada to the Arctic. It was Banks who inspired the famous adventure of Captain Bligh for transplanting the breadfruit, and ultimately made it successful. He was President of The Royal Society, and a friend of King George III.