William
Roxburgh:
The Founding Father
of Indian Botany
by Dr Tim Robinson
PHILLIMORE AND COMPANY LIMITED
Considered by his 18th-century contemporaries
to be ‘the greatest botanist
since Linnaeus’, remarkably
this is the first full biography
of ‘The Founding Father
of Indian Botany’,
William Roxburgh.
Born in the mid 18th-century, William Roxburgh
was brought up in the centre of the Edinburgh
Enlightenment, with all the patronage and
intellectual curiosity that this entailed.
After joining the East India Company as an Assistant Surgeon on one of their ships, he joined the staff of the General Hospital
at Madras. Soon, he was Company Naturalist,
describing many species for the first time which inspired some beautiful watercolour
drawings by Indian artists, copies of which were sent to Sir Joseph Banks at Kew.
Arising from his scientific work, he was appointed
the first paid Superintendent of the Calcutta
Botanic Garden in 1793, where he continued his previous experimental work as well as looking
into the introduction of a wide range of crops.
Always looking for ways to improve the lot of
native workers, to reduce the impact of frequent
famines, he suggested labour-intensive methods
by developing local skills and introducing suitable
plants that could be used for food.
With important work also on the botany of
the Cape of Good Hope as well as St Helena,
and significant contributions to the fields of
meteorology, zoology and geology, Roxburgh’s
obituaries referred to him as the ‘greatest botanist since Linnaeus’.
Publications
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Beautifully illustrated throughout with archival material, botanical
drawings and photographs, some
published here for the first time,
William Roxburgh:The Founding Father of Indian Botany, a joint
publication between the Royal
Botanic Garden Edinburgh and
Phillimore and Company Limited, is a must for historians, botanists and general readers alike.
n Large format, more than 250 pages
n Over 150 illustrations, many in colour
n Hardback with laminated dust jacket
n Publication date: March 2008
n £50 plus postage and packing
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please visit our website
www.rbge.org.uk/publications
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