Sir Joseph Hooker

1817-1911

Famous British botanist who in 1865 became the second director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London.

Hooker is noted for his encouragement of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. He, along with Sir Charles Lyell, induced Darwin to make public his views on the origin of species (1858) after A.R. Wallace had communicated similar ideas. Hooker traveled the world on botanical expeditions.

Muir traveled with Hooker, Asa Gray, and John Bidwell around the Lassen Peak and the Mt. Shasta region botanizing in the summer of 1877. Hooker and Muir found and catalogued the Twinflower (Linnaea borealis), the first of its kind discovered in California. Muir maintained correspondence with Hooker for years afterward. A portion of Muir's tribute to the great botanist Linnaus tells the story of John Muir's travels with Asa Gray and Sir Joseph Hooker in the forests around Mount Shasta.

On September 1, 1893, Muir wrote to his wife Louie from London about his visit with the great botanist: "Yesterday afternoon I went to the home of Sir Joseph Hooker at Sunningdale with him and his family. . . . Sir Joseph and his lady were very cordial. They have a charming country residence, far wilder and more retired than ours, though within twenty-five miles of London. We had a long delightful talk last evening on science and scientific men, and this forenoon and afternoon long walks and talks through the grounds and over the adjacent hills. Altogether this has been far the most interesting day I have had since leaving home. I never knew before that Sir Joseph had accompanied Ross in his famous Antarctic expedition as naturalist. He showed me a large number of sketches he made of the great ice-cap, etc., and gave me many facts concerning that little known end of the world entirely new to me. Long talks, too, about Huxley, Tyndall, Darwin, Sir Charles Lyell, Asa Gray, etc. My, what a time we had! I never before knew either that he had received the Copley Medal, the highest scientific honor in the world."