Applied Botany

Join Shoe Lane Library and Eleanor Smith for this talk on Joseph Banks and his contribution to science and history.

Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was a great Natural Philosopher during the Enlightenment. Long-standing president of the Royal Society and the first botanist to travel with a British naval ship, Banks was a profoundly influential figure. Through his life's work, most notably his discoveries aboard James Cook’s HMS Endeavour, he had a lasting impact on British science.

Banks’ contributions to anthropology, zoology and botany enhanced scientific knowledge and helped to cement colonial power during the 18th and 19th centuries. Colonial and Enlightenment ideals meant that applied science, science with a clear purpose, was seen as the only real science of value, and whether intentionally or not, Banks contributed to empire-building in some way through each new discovery.

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