Banks, Sir Joseph

Sir Joseph (1743-1820), an English naturalist. He was a native of London and was educated at Oxford. He inherited a fortune and gave himself to an enthusiastic study of natural history. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1766. He sailed with Captain Cook 1768-1771 in his famous voyage around the world, returning with a fine collection of plants and animals. He was made president of the Royal Society in 1777, a position which he retained forty years. In 1781 he was made a baronet. Banks was a man of wealth. He used his money freely in assisting collectors. Many plants new to science have been named in his honor. The common scrub or jack-pine of the northern woods is known to botanists as Banks' pine. See Kew; Cook