George Bentham

See also: Bentham

George Bentham , born the September 22nd 1800 in Stoke close to Portsmouth and dead the September 10th 1884 with London, is a British Botaniste , one of the most important systematicians of Botanique of the 19th century.

His/her father, Sir Samuel Bentham, is the only brother of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. George Bentham does not attend schools but watch very early a formidable capacity of study. Its gifts in foreign languages are considerable. At the seven years age, he speaks the French, the German and the Russian as well as good concepts of Swedish. After the end of the war with the France, the Benthams family makes a long voyage in this country and is established two years with Montauban where Bentham studies the Hebrew and the Mathématiques at the Protestant school of the city. Benthams move then close to Montpellier where Sir Samuel buys a great field.

George Bentham is interested in botany while wanting to apply to the study of the plants the logical methods developed by her uncle, Jeremy. Whereas it continues its studies with Angouleme, it discovers by chance a French Flore , work of Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, and is interested in the system of determination which is there. Bentham immediately tests it with the first plant which it crosses. As he discovers the name of the plant thus, he continues his tests with all the plants which he crosses. This experiment ends up encouraging it to devote itself fully to botany.

When it comes to London in 1823, it enters in relation to the British botanists. In 1826, under the pressure of his uncle, he becomes his secretary and starts studies of rights. But, in 1831, dies his/her father and the following year Jeremy. Thanks to some goods which he inherits, he can with leisure devote himself to his favorite research, namely botany but also logic.

After having made appear the notes which his/her father left, it publishes, in 1826 in Paris, its Catalog of the indigenous plants of the Pyrenees and Low Languedoc (where it gives the results of a herborizing in the Pyrenees which it had undertaken a few years earlier with G.A. Walker Arnott (1799-1868), professor of botany at the university of Glasgow). As of this first work, Bentham adopts a principle from which he will never derogate: never not to quote data of second hand.

It publishes articles on subjects varied in particular of right but also in 1827, Outline off has off New System Logic, with has Critical Examination off Dr. Whately' S Elements off Logic (1827), which is regarded by its contemporaries as the most important work of logic abstracted since Aristote. Unfortunately the editor goes bankrupt after having sold only sixty specimens of his book.

In 1836, Bentham publishes its Labiatarum generated and species for which he visited, between 1830 and 1834, principal European herbaria. The following year, it publishes in annals of the Natural history museum of Vienna, its Commentationes de Leguminosarum generibus . In 1842, it settles in Pontrilas in the Herefordshire. There, it is harnessed with the drafting of sound Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis where it describes 4.730 species (this book will be completed by his/her friend A.P. of Candolle).

In 1854, finding the maintenance of its herbarium and its too expensive library, it offers them to the Botanical garden Kew Gardens so that they are used to create a scientific research center. It then plans to give up botany but his/her scientific friends dissuade some. In 1855, it settles in London and works in Kew five days per week, activity which it will maintain until the end of its life.

In 1857, the British government considers the publication of Flore S describing the plants of the British colonies. It is Bentham which makes appear the first volume in 1861, entitled Flora Hongkongensis , first flora of this area little known of China. It continues with Flora Australiensis , in seven volumes (1863-1878), the first flora of this area. He is prize winner in 1859 of the Royal Medal. Its philosopher's stone remains its Genera Plantarum , than it starts in 1862 and which will be completed in 1883 by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker.

See too

the detail of the classification which it develops with Hooker

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