George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS FLS (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".[1] Born into a distinguished family, he initially studied law, but had a fascination with botany from an early age, which he soon pursued, becoming president of the Linnaean Society in 1861, and a fellow of the Royal Society in 1862. He was the author of a number of important botanical works, particularly flora. He is best known for his taxonomic classification of plants in collaboration with Joseph Dalton Hooker, his Genera Plantarum (1862–1883). He died in London in 1884.
This article is about the botanist. For the singer, see George Bentham (singer). For the British politician, see George Jackson Bentham.
George Bentham
22 September 1800
10 September 1884 (aged 83)
Sarah Jones
Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1859
Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1879
Benth.
Life[edit]
Bentham was born in Stoke, Plymouth, on 22 September 1800.[2][3] His father, Sir Samuel Bentham, a naval architect, was the only brother of Jeremy Bentham to survive into adulthood. His mother, Mary Sophia Bentham, was a botanist and author.[4] Bentham had no formal education but 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 while still a child. The family made a long tour through France, staying two years at Montauban, where Bentham studied Hebrew and mathematics in the Protestant Theological School. They eventually settled near Montpellier where Sir Samuel bought a large estate.[5]
While studying at Angoulême, Bentham came across a copy of A. P. de Candolle's Flore française, and became interested in the analytical tables for identifying plants. He immediately tested them on the first plant he saw. The result was successful and he applied it to every plant he came across. In London in 1823, he met English botanists. His uncle pushed him to study law at Lincoln's Inn. He was called to the bar and in 1832 held his first and only legal brief.[5]
However, his interest in botany never flagged and he became secretary of the Horticultural Society of London from 1829 to 1840.[6]
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 Sir Harford Jones Brydges, on 11 April 1833; they did not have children.[8]
Bentham died at his London home on 10 September 1884, aged 83.[3] He was interred in Brompton Cemetery.
Career[edit]
Views on evolution[edit]
Bentham's life spanned the Darwinian revolution, and his young colleague Joseph Dalton Hooker was Darwin's closest friend and one of the first to accept Darwin's ideas. Until then, Bentham unquestioningly believed that species were fixed. In 1874 he wrote that "Fifteen years have sufficed to establish a theory of evolution by natural selection".[9] Bentham's conversion to the new line of thought was 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."[10]
Honours and awards[edit]
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.
