Sir Joseph Banks letter

Collection

Identifier: MS 0169

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Stored onsite at the Woodson Research Center.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains a letter by Sir Joseph Banks to an unnamed correspondent, sending thanks for four plates and a drawing, and then discussing eleven botanical specimens. There is also a reference to the Royal Society, of which Banks was President for forty-two years.

Dates

Creation: 1784

Creator

Banks, Joseph, Sir (Author, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored onsite at the Woodson Research Center.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Sir Joseph Banks Letter must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

Biographical / Historical

Sir Joseph Banks was a well-known British naturalist and botanist. He was born in London in 1743 to a wealthy family and attended Oxford University. During his career at Oxford, he inherited his father’s fortune and after graduation became a full-time botanist. In 1766, he traveled to Newfoundland and Labrador and collected plant and animal specimens. At this time he was also elected a fellow of the Royal Society. Banks joined Captain James Cook’s first great voyage to explore the South Pacific islands. Banks was elected President of the Royal Society in 1778, a position that he held for forty-two years. He was made a baronet in 1781, and today 75 species bear his name. As President of the Royal Society, he directed the course of British science until his death in 1820.