George Bentham
George Bentham
Born	September 22, 1800 Portsmouth
Died	September 10, 1884
Nationality	English
Fields	botany
Notable awards	Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1859 Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1879

George Bentham CMG, FRS (September 22, 1800–September 10, 1884) was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Year -of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar until Friday, but 12 days ahead since Saturday. History See also History of Portsmouth There have been settlements in the area since before Roman times mostly being offshoots of Portchester, which Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life The Royal Medals of the Royal Society of London, also as The Queen's Medals were established by King George IV. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales ( Australia) for distinguished work in the Natural sciences Named in honour of the The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Year -of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar until Friday, but 12 days ahead since Saturday. Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life

Contents 1 Formative years 2 Career 2.1 Views on evolution 2.2 Publications 3 References 4 Biographies 5 External links 6 See also

Formative years

He was born in Stoke near Portsmouth. History See also History of Portsmouth There have been settlements in the area since before Roman times mostly being offshoots of Portchester, which His father, Sir Samuel Bentham, was the only brother of Jeremy Bentham. Sir Samuel Bentham ( 11 January 1757 in England - 31 May 1831 in London, England) was a noted English Jeremy Bentham ( IPA: or) (15 February 1748&ndash6 June 1832 was an English Jurist, Philosopher, and legal and Social reformer George Bentham had neither a school nor a college education, but at an early age acquired the power of giving sustained and concentrated attention to any subject that occupied him. He also had a remarkable linguistic aptitude. By the age of seven he could speak French, German and Russian, and he learned Swedish during a short residence in Sweden when little older. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. At the close of the war with France, the Benthams made a long tour through that country, staying two years at Montauban, where Bentham studied Hebrew and mathematics in the Protestant Theological School. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Montauban ( Montalban in Occitan) is a town and commune of southwestern France, Préfecture (capital of the Tarn-et-Garonne Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and They eventually settled in the neighborhood of Montpellier where Sir Samuel purchased a large estate. Montpellier ( Occitan Montpelhièr) is a City in the south of France.

George Bentham became attracted to botanical studies by applying to them his uncle’s logical methods, and not by any special interest in natural history. While studying at Angouleme he came across a copy of A. P. de Candolle’s Flore française, and he became interested in the analytical tables for identifying plants. Angoulême is a commune in western France, capital of the Charente department. He immediately proceeded to test their use on the first plant he saw. The result was successful and he continued to apply it to every plant he came across. A visit to London in 1823 brought him into contact with the brilliant circle of English botanists. In 1826, at the pressing invitation of his uncle, he agreed to act as his secretary, at the same time entering at Lincolns Inn and reading for the bar. He was called in due time and in 1832 held his first and last brief. The same year Jeremy Bentham died, leaving his property to his nephew. His father’s inheritance had fallen to him the previous year. He was now in a position of modest independence, and able to pursue wholeheartedly his favorite studies. For a time these were divided between botany, jurisprudence and logic, in addition to editing his father’s professional papers.

Career

Views on evolution

Bentham's life spanned the Darwinian revolution and, moreover, his young colleague J.D. Hooker was Darwin's closest friend and one of the first to accept Darwin's ideas. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, OM, GCSI, MD, FRS (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911 was an English Botanist and Explorer Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life Bentham was until then an unquestioning adherent of the dogma of the constancy of species. In 1863 he had still not converted to the new ideas, but by 1874 he was able to write: "Fifteen years have sufficed to establish a theory, of which the principal ponts, so far as they affect systematic botany. . . [continues in familiar Darwinian manner, variation, differential survival and heredity producing new varieties and species]. ^[1]

Bentham's conversion to the new line of thought was remarkably complete, and included a change from typology in taxonomy to an appreciation that "We cannot form an idea of a species from a single individual, nor of a genus from a single one of its species. We can no more set up a typical species than a typical individual. " ^[2]

Publications

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 Pyrenees in company with G. A. Walker Arnott (1799 – 1868), afterwards professor of botany in the university of Glasgow. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés George Arnott Walker-Arnott ( February 6, 1799 - June 17, 1868) was a Scottish Botanist. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom It is interesting to notice that in it Bentham adopted the principle from which he never deviated, of citing nothing at second-hand. This was followed by articles on various legal subjects: on codification, in which he disagreed with his uncle, on the laws affecting larceny and on the law of real property. But the most remarkable production of this period was the Outline of a new System of Logic, with a critical examination of Dr Whately’s Elements of Logic (1827)^[3]. In this the principle of the quantification of the predicate was first explicitly stated. This Stanley Jevons declared to be undoubtedly the most fruitful discovery made in abstract logical science since the time of Aristotle. William Stanley Jevons ( September 1, 1835 - August 13, 1882) English Economist and Logician, was born in Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Before sixty copies had been sold the publisher became bankrupt and the stock went for wastepaper. The book passed into oblivion, and it was not till 1873 that Bentham’s claims to priority were finally vindicated against those of Sir William Hamilton by Herbert Spencer. Sir William Hamilton 9th Baronet ( 8 March 1788 &ndash 6 May 1856) was a Scottish metaphysician. Herbert Spencer ( April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903) was an English Philosopher; prominent classical liberal

In 1836 he published his Labiatarum genera et species. In preparing this work he visited, between 1830–1834, every European herbarium, several more than once. The following winter was passed in Vienna, where he produced his Commentationes de Leguminosarum generibus, published in the annals of the Vienna Museum. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. In 1842 he moved to Pontrilas in Herefordshire. Constitution Herefordshire was reconstituted both as a new Non-metropolitan district (effective 19th July 1996 and as a new County comprising the area of the His chief occupation for the next few years was his contributions to the Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, which was being carried on by his friend, A. P. de Candolle. Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr In all these dealt with some 4,730 species.

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. The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive Gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and 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. Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS ( July 6, 1785 &mdash August 12, 1865) was an English botanist. John Lindley ( February 8, 1799 - November 1, 1865) was an English Botanist. 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 till the end of his life.

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. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 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 Hong Kong Croton. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Hong Kong croton ( Croton hancei) is an Endemic species of croton to Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. This was followed by the Flora Australiensis, in seven volumes (1863–1878), the first flora of any large continental area that had ever been finished. Flora Australiensis a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard His greatest work was the Genera Plantarum^[4], begun in 1862, and concluded in 1883 in collaboration with Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, OM, GCSI, MD, FRS (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911 was an English Botanist and Explorer His most famous work, however, was the Handbook of the British flora, begun in 1853 and first published in 1858. This was used by students for over a century, running into many editions. After his death it was edited by Hooker, and was known simply as Bentham & Hooker.

Bentham was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1859, elected FRS in 1862, and appointed CMG (Companion of St Michael & St George) in 1878. The Royal Medals of the Royal Society of London, also as The Queen's Medals were established by King George IV. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George Prince Regent (later George His foreign awards included the Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1879. The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales ( Australia) for distinguished work in the Natural sciences Named in honour of the The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Academic offices
Preceded by Thomas Bell	President of the Linnean Society 1861–1874	Succeeded by George James Allman
Awards
Preceded by Richard Owen	Clarke Medal 1879	Succeeded by Thomas Huxley

References

Biographies

• Marion Filipuik ed 1997. George Bentham, autobiography 1800-1843. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-0791-0
• J. Reynolds Green 1914. A history of botany in the United Kingdom from the earliest times to the end of the 19th century. Dent, London.
• Duane Isely 1994. One hundred and one botanists Iowa State University Press p163-6.
• B. Daydon Jackson 1906. George Bentham.
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

External links

• "Bentham, George, (1800 – 1884) Botanicus Missouri Botanical Garden Library
• Bentham, George (1839 - 1857). Plantas Hartwegianas :imprimis mexicanas adjectis nonnullis Grahamianis enumerat novasque describit Georgius Bentham.. Londini. QK109. B48 1839-57.  

See also

• Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia

George Bentham 's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1870 in Volume 5 of Bentham's Flora Australiensis.

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