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- Sir Joseph Banks, 1744~1820 -
Born on February 13, 1744, in London, Sir Joseph Banks was one the greatest figures of Georgian England.
The only son of William Banks, of Revesby Abbey, north of Boston, he was educated at Harrow, Eton and Oxford, and grew up with a deep interest in botany.
At the tender age of 21 he inherited the family estate of 10,000 acres, making him one of the wealthiest men in England of that time.
Sir Joseph took his first botanical trip to Newfoundland in April 1766 and it was on this voyage he first learned of his election as a fellow of the Royal Society.
Soon after, Captain James Cook was ordered by the Royal Society to take the HM Bark Endeavour to Tahiti and Antarctica.
Banks used his influence to gain a place on the expedition in his role as a naturalist, which led to the discovery of many new botanical specimens.
In 1769 the expedition headed for New Zealand and a year later to the then undiscovered coast of East Australia, rich with hundreds of species of plant - resulting in the name Botany Bay.
Often dubbed the Father of Australia, Sir Joseph was elected president of the Royal Society at the age of 35.
On June 19, 1820, Sir Joseph Banks died of gout but his influence is seen everywhere today, from the botanical gardens of Kew to modern Australia.
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