Joseph Banks Bt KCB (1743 - 1820)

Born 13 Feb 1743 in Westminster, London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothea (Hugesson) Banks — married 23 Mar 1779 in St Andrew's Church, Holborn, London, England

Died 19 Jun 1820 at age 77 in Heston, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dianne Fullerton [send private message]

Biography

Joseph Banks Bt KCB is Notable.

Joseph Banks was born on 13 February 1743 at Westminster, London, England, the only son of William Banks and Sarah (nee Bate)^[1]. He was first educated at home, then at Harrow, Eton, and Christ Church College, Oxford University, the last in 1760. However, he left Oxford without obtaining a degree after obtaining his inheritance in 1764, entering on a natural science path with emphasis on botany.

Before he became President, he was associated with Harriet Blosset in 1770-1, but he paid her £5000 in compensation on his return on the Endeavor. In 1775-78, Banks had a recognized mistress in Sarah Wells, who lived south of St. James Park. In March 1779, at the age of 36, he married Dorothea Hugessen, a 20-year old Kentish coheiress, at St. Andrew's Church, Holborn. His sister Sarah Sophia became a permanent member of their household; Hugessen and Banks had no children.^[2]

His first expedition was by HMS Niger to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1766 (ref.1), when he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, returning in early 1767 with a large collection of specimens, for his first meeting on 15 February 1767.

In 1768 he sailed with a very well equipped team of 8 assistants for collecting, studying and preserving natural history specimens, on Captain James Cook's ship Endeavour. "They made collections and observations at Rio de Janeiro, Tierra del Fuego, Tahiti, and during the survey of New Zealand. They took full advantage of landings on the eastern coast of Australia, especially at Botany Bay (28 April–5 May 1770) [called Stingray at that time by Cook from the large quantity seen and caught]^[3] and at Endeavour River (17 June–3 August)." "Further observations were made on the New Guinea coast and the island of Savu on the way to Batavia, [Java] . . . at the Cape [South Africa] and St Helena." (ref.1). They finally landed at Deal, Kent, England on 12 July 1771, with huge specimen collections, reams of notes and drawings.

It appears from Joseph's detailed notes that no real contact was made with the Aborigines of Botany Bay, who were not welcoming, and could not be understood verbally. They were either threatening or unresponsive to the offer of gifts.^[4] This was confirmed by Captain James Cook's Journal for May 6, 1770, in which he wrote: "However, we could know but very little of their Customs, as we never were able to form any Connections with them; they had not so much as touch’d the things we had left in their Hutts on purpose for them to take away. During our stay in this Harbour I caused the English Colours to be display’d ashore every day, and an inscription to be cut out upon one of the Trees near the Watering place, setting forth the Ship’s Name, Date, etc."^[5]

Joseph Banks noted on 7 July 1770 at Endeavour River, in regard to the natives: "thus were we disapointed of the only good chance we have had of seeing the people since we came here by their unaccountable timidity". A few days later they had much closer contact, with the Indians as Banks called them, and even an exchange of fish, allowing Joseph to provide detailed descriptions. By 17 July they seemed to have completely lost their fear and the next day ventured on board the ship and soon became our very good friends. However, it was to be short-lived as Banks had no knowledge of their customs and traditions, of sharing, caring and ownership, when he refused their request for a turtle, with 8 or 9 lying on the deck. They tried to take a couple several times but were prevented, so left the ship and set fire to the grass to destroy Banks tent and other items onshore. By a judicious use of muskets, the British managed to show they meant no harm, and peace was restored, but the indigenous people would not come on board the Endeavour again. It was ready to set sail for Batavia next day, but the combination of unfavourable weather conditions and inability to find a passage to the open ocean free of shoals and reefs, meant they did not actually get beyond the 100 fathom mark until 13 August 1770, and out of sight of land on the 14th.

Joseph was presented, together with his chief assistant, Dr Solander, to King George III in August 1771, the beginning of a rewarding association. In November of that year they received honorary degrees of Doctor of Law from Oxford University.

He carried out expeditions on his own account and received many more awards of recognition of his services to science, including becoming President of the Royal Society in 1778, and remaining so until his death; a Baronet in 1781; KCB in 1795, and a member of the Privy Council in 1797.

Sir Joseph Banks "personally financed the voyage of the HMS Bounty, under Commander William Bligh, in 1787. After the infamous mutiny on that ship he vigorously defended Bligh and later recommended his appointment as Governor of New South Wales."^[6] A position he held from 13 August 1806 to 26 January 1808.

He felt strong ties with New South Wales, where his name is honoured in many ways. He corresponded with the first five Governors from Arthur Phillip to Lachlane Macquarie.

Sir Joseph Banks died on 19 June 1820 at Heston, London, England, and was buried at Lincoln Cathedral Cemetery, City of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. Probate was granted on 19 September 1820. "In his will he stipulated that he be buried without ceremony and that no monument be raised to his memory. Nevertheless a memorial to him was unveiled in Lincoln Cathedral in 2001." (ref.5)

Banks' life's collections, notes, etc are still being catalogued 28 years after work began in 1989^[7]

Residence

Residence:

Place: Ranesbury Abbey LIN

Sources

1. ↑ L. A. Gilbert, Banks, Sir Joseph (1743–1820), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,
   published first in hardcopy 1966
2. ↑ Gascoigne, John. "Banks, Sir Joseph, baronet (1743–1820), naturalist and patron of science." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 23 Sep. 2004
3. ↑ Transcript of Endeavour Journal, State Library of New South Wales, archived at Wayback Machine 25 Jun 2017, retrieved 14 Jan 2021.
4. ↑ Papers of Sir Joseph Banks: Section 2 - The first Pacific voyage of James Cook. State Library of New South Wales, archived at Wayback Machine 30 Jul 2017, retrieved 14 Jan 2021.
5. ↑ www.the-great-barrier-reef-experience.com/captain-james-cook-journal.html
6. ↑ findagrave.com
7. ↑ independent.co.uk

• (361) Banks of Beck House and Revesby Abbey, baronets Landed families of Britain and Ireland
• The London Gazette, 20 March 1781, Issue:12172, Page:5
• Birth and death: Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
• Will: Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. The National Archives; Kew, England; Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1634
• About Sir Joseph Banks, State Library of New South Wales, Australia, archived at Wayback Machine 8 Jul 2017, retrieved 14 Jan 2021.

• WikiTree profile Banks-870 created through the import of MERRYWEATHER_2009-10-28.GED on Oct 23, 2012 by Alan Merryweather. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Alan and others.

See also:

• 'Michael Faraday - a Sandemanian and Scientist' by Geoffrey Cantor