ABOUT THE PUBLICATION / EDITOR / ARTIST

Sir William Jackson HOOKER  (1785–1865)

William Jackson Hooker  was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and was an important figure in the history of New Zealand's natural history.

With Joseph Banks' support, William Hooker was able to obtain the Chair of Botany at Glasgow University in 1820. During the twenty-one years of his tenure he revitalised the botany department as well as the city's botanical gardens. When his son Joseph was six years old, he would accompany his father to the university almost every day and attend his lectures. Although he was immensely popular as a professor, William Hooker found that his income was not sufficient to support his growing family.

It was by exercising his many connections and influences that in 1841 he took over management of Kew and was appointed as Director.

In 1839, Sir James Clark Ross, who was a friend of William Jackson Hooker, offered his son, Joseph Dalton Hooker, the position of assistant surgeon on his expedition to the Antarctic in Her Majesty's discovery ships Erebus and Terror.

Over the years Hooker was able to use his considerable charm and tact to expand the garden by acquiring many of the surrounding royal grounds, as well as initiate the construction of several glasshouses, including the famous Palm House, and organize the garden's beds in a more logical and scientific manner. He was also largely responsible for opening a greater portion of the garden for public viewing.

He maintained his position as director until his death in 1865, at which time his son, Sir Joseph Hooker, took over as Director.

William Jackson Hooker is the editor of: A Century of Ferns, New, or Rare, or Imperfectly Known Species of Ferns, from Various Parts of the World, 1854.

Reference:

Plant Explorers, The adventure is growing. Plant Explorers