James Edward Smith (botanist) explained

Sir James Edward Smith
Birth Date:1759 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Norwich, England
Death Place:Norwich, England
Nationality:English
Author Abbrev Bot:Sm.
Workplaces:Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Alma Mater:University of Edinburgh
Academic Advisors:Joseph Black
John Walker

Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.[1]

Early life and education

Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He started studying botanical science when he was eighteen.[2] In 1781 he enrolled in the medical course at the University of Edinburgh,[2] where he studied chemistry under Joseph Black, natural history under John Walker, and botany under John Hope, an early teacher of Linnaean taxonomy.[2] He moved to London in 1783 to continue his studies and became a friend of Sir Joseph Banks, who was offered the entire collection of books, manuscripts and specimens of the Swedish natural historian and botanist Carl Linnaeus following the death of his son Carolus Linnaeus the Younger.[2] Banks declined the purchase, but Smith borrowed money from his father and bought the collection for the bargain price of £1,000 in 1784. Smith was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1785.[2]

Academic career

Between 1786 and 1788, Smith made the grand tour through the Netherlands, France, Italy and Switzerland visiting botanists, picture galleries and herbaria. He founded the Linnean Society of London in 1788, becoming its first President, a post he held until his death. He returned to live in Norwich in 1796 bringing with him the entire Linnean Collection. His library and botanical collections acquired European fame and was visited by numerous entomologists and botanists from all over the Continent. In 1792, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In 1796, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society.[3]

Smith spent the remaining thirty years of his life writing books and articles on botany. His books included Flora Britannica and The English Flora (4 volumes, 1824–1828). He contributed 3,348 botanical articles to Rees's Cyclopædia between 1808 and 1819, following the death of Rev. William Wood, who had started the work. In addition, he contributed 57 biographies of botanists.[4]

He contributed seven volumes to the major botanical publication of the eighteenth century, Flora Graeca, the publications begun by John Sibthorp. A fruitful collaboration was found through descriptions Smith supplied to publisher and illustrator, James Sowerby with whom he subsequently developed as passionate interest in mosses and lichens. Depiction of flora in England had previously only found patronage for aesthetic concerns, but an interest in gardening and natural history saw illustrated publications, such as the exotic A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland and James Sowerby's 36-volume English Botany, reach new audiences.[5]

In 1797, Smith published The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia, the earliest book on North American insects. It included the illustrations and notes of John Abbot, with descriptions of new species by Smith based on Abbot's drawings.[6]

Smith's friendship with William Roscoe (after whom he named the genus Roscoea) saw him contribute 5000 plants, between 1806 and 1817, to supplement the Roylean Herbarium. This was to become the Smith Herbarium held by the Liverpool Botanical Garden.[7]

Personal life and death

Smith died at his Norwich home in Surrey Street on March 17, 1828, aged 68.[8] After his death the Linnean Collection, together with Smith's own collections, were bought by the Linnean Society for £3,000.[9]

He was married in 1796 to Pleasance Reeve, who survived him by 49 years and edited his memoirs and correspondence. They are buried together at St Margaret's, Lowestoft.[10] His niece, Frances Catherine Barnard (1796–1869), was an author.

Eponymy

The Himalayan spruce, Picea smithiana is named for him.

Works

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kennett . Tom . The Lord Treasurer of Botany. Sir James Edward Smith and the Linnean Collections. . 2016 . The Linnean Society . London . 978-0-9935510-0-0.
  2. Encyclopedia: Boulger . G. S. . Walker . Margot . 2004 . Smith, Sir James Edward (1759–1828), botanist . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press . 10.1093/ref:odnb/25825 .
  3. Web site: APS Member History. 2021-03-31. search.amphilsoc.org.
  4. Book: Smith, Lady Pleasance. Memoir and Correspondence of the late Sir James Edward Smith, M.D. . 1832 . Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman . London . 1 . 489.
  5. Web site: James Sowerby . 26 July 2007 . Walsh . Huber M. . 2003 . Rare book – Authors . Missouri Botanical Garden . Unlike other flower painters of the time, whose work tended toward pleasing wealthy patrons, he worked directly with scientists. .
  6. Web site: Smith, James Edward . 25 July 2007 . Robert Erickson . Authors . Botanicus .
  7. Web site: Botany; Historic herbaria . 18 July 2007 . World Museum Liverpool herbarium . As a consequence of his friendship with William Roscoe, Smith sent around 5,000 specimens on exchange to the Garden, greatly strengthening the herbarium's worldwide coverage and including many hundreds of type specimens. [''emph.''].
  8. Web site: Norfolk Annals, A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteenth Century, Vol. 1 (March. 1828) . Charles Mackie . www.hellenica.com . 31 December 2019 .
  9. Simmons. Alvin M.. Wiseman. B. R.. 1993. James Edward Smith - Taxonomic Author of the Fall Armyworm. The Florida Entomologist. 76. 2. 271–276. 10.2307/3495726. 3495726. 0015-4040.
  10. Book: Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey. Harvey, Joy Dorothy. Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie . Joy Harvey. The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Taylor & Francis. 2000. 978-0-415-92040-7.
  11. Web site: James Sowerby, his publications and works . 16 July 2007 . Conklin Lawrence H. . 1995 . Reprints of Conklin articles . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402223018/http://www.lhconklin.com/bio/publications/sowerby.htm . 2 April 2015 . N.B.: This article appeared in Mineralogical Record, volume 26, July–August, 1995. . dead .
  12. Web site: Valauskas . Edward J. . 2013 . Protecting Linnaeus: Sir James Edward Smith (1759–1828) as Linnean critic and defender . Chicago Botanic Garden . 2017-12-14. 31 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140731210512/https://www.chicagobotanic.org/library/stories/protecting_linnaeus. dead.