George Bentham
George Bentham | |
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Born | Stoke Damerel, Plymouth, England | 22 September 1800
Died | 10 September 1884 London, England | (aged 83)
Spouse | Sarah Jones |
Awards | Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1859 Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1879 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Botany |
Institutions | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
Author abbrev. (botany) | Benth. |
George Bentham
Life
Bentham was born in
While studying at
In 1832, he inherited the property of his uncle, Jeremy Bentham. Having inherited his father's estate the previous year, he was now sufficiently well off to do whatever he wanted, which was botany, jurisprudence and logic.[7]
Bentham married Sarah Jones (1798–1881), daughter of
Bentham died at his London home on 10 September 1884, aged 83.[3] He was interred in Brompton Cemetery.
Career
Views on evolution
Bentham's life spanned the Darwinian revolution, and his young colleague
Honours and awards
Bentham was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1859 and elected a Fellow in 1862.[11] He served as president of the Linnean Society of London from 1861 to 1874.[12] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1866.[13] He was appointed CMG (Companion of St Michael & St George) in 1878. His foreign awards included the Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1879.
Works
Bentham's first publication was his Catalogue des plantes indigènes des Pyrénées et du Bas Languedoc (Paris 1826), the result of a careful exploration of the
In 1836 he published his Labiatarum genera et species. In preparing this work he visited, between 1830 and 1834, every European herbarium, several more than once. The following winter was passed in
In 1844, he provided the botanical descriptions for The Botany of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur.
In 1854 he found the maintenance of a herbarium and library too expensive. He, therefore, offered them to the government on the understanding that they should form the foundation of such necessary aids to research in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. At the same time, he contemplated the abandonment of botanical work. However, he yielded to the persuasion of Sir William Jackson Hooker, John Lindley and other scientific friends. In 1855 he took up his residence in London, and worked at Kew for five days a week, with a brief summer holiday, from this time onwards until the end of his life.[15]
In 1857, the government sanctioned a scheme for the preparation of a series of Floras or descriptions in the English language of the indigenous plants of British colonies and possessions. Bentham began with the Flora Hongkongensis in 1861, which was the first comprehensive work on any part of the little-known flora of China and Hong Kong, including
Selected publications
- "On the Distribution of the Monocotyledonous Orders into Primary Groups, more especially in reference to the Australian Flora, with notes on some points of Terminology". Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany. 15 (88): 490–520. February 1877. .
- Genera plantarum ad exemplaria imprimis in herbariis kewensibus servata definita (3 vols.). London: L Reeve & Co. 1862–1883.
- Outline of a New System of Logic: With a Critical Examination of Dr. Whately's "Elements of Logic. London: Hunt and Clarke. 1827. ISBN 9780598395641.
- The Botany of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur. under Captain Ed. Belcher The Botanical descriptions by George Bentham: Text. Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 1846 – via Smith Elder and Co.
Legacy

The following plants have been named in his honour:
Genera
Species
- Acanthocephalus benthamianus Regel
- Andropogon benthamianus Steud.
- Gardenia benthamianus F.Muell.
- Croton benthamianus Müll.Arg.
- Distemonanthus benthamianus Baill.
- Triana) Pipoly
- Nicotiana benthamiana Domin
- Pinus ponderosa ssp. benthamiana Hartw.
- Thelymitra benthamiana Rchb.f.
- Verbascum sinaiticum
See also
- Bentham & Hooker system
- Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
- Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
- Category:Taxa named by George Bentham
References
Citations
- ^ Isely 2002, pp. 163–166.
- ^ Anon 1999, p. 43.
- ^ ISBN 9782908866506)
- ISBN 9780822306030. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
For example, the career of George Bentham, writer on botany and president of the Linnean Society from 1861 to 1874, "seems to have been largely due to his mother," Lady Mary Bentham (c. 1765-1858), who had a herbarium and was said to have been a very good botanist.
- ^ a b Thiselton-Dyer 1911, p. 746.
- ISSN 2215-2067.
- ^ Thiselton-Dyer 1911, pp. 746–747.
- ^ Burke, John; Burke, Sir Bernard (1906). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of The Landed Gentry of Great Britain. London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Green 1914, p. 498.
- ^ Green 1914, p. 499.
- ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 27 December 2010.[permanent dead link]
- JSTOR 2994865.
- ^ "Ch. B" (PDF). Book of Members, 1780–2010. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ Bentham 1827.
- ^ a b c d Thiselton-Dyer 1911, p. 747.
- ^ Bentham 1846.
- ^ "Hinds, Richard Brinsley (1812?–1847)". Royal College of Surgeons. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Bentham & Hooker 1862–1883.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. Benth.
Sources
- Jean-Jacques Amigo, « Bentham (George) », in Nouveau Dictionnaire de biographies roussillonnaises, vol. 3 Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre, Perpignan, Publications de l'olivier, 2017, 915 p. (ISBN 9782908866506)
- Anon (1999). A Dictionary of Scientists. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280086-2.
- Thiselton-Dyer, William Turner (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 746–747.
- Green, Joseph Reynolds (1914). A History of Botany in the United Kingdom from the Earliest Times to the End of the 19th Century. London: J. M. Dent & sons.
- Isely, Duane (2002). One Hundred and One Botanists. Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1-55753-283-1.
- Bettany, George Thomas (1885). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
Further reading
- Jackson, Benjamin Daydon (1906). George Bentham. J.M. Dent. & Company.
- Bentham, George (1997). Filipuik, Marion (ed.). George Bentham: Autobiography, 1800-1834. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-0791-9.
- Bentham, George (1839–1857). Plantas Hartwegianas.
External links
Works by or about George Bentham at Wikisource
- Works by or about George Bentham at Internet Archive
- "Bentham, George" at Botanicus Missouri Botanical Garden Library
