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Abstract

Following his early voyages to Labrador and Newfoundland, and then with Cook to the South Pacific, Banks was elected in 1778, at the age of 35, President of The Royal Society, a position held until his death 42 years later. From a present day perspective, his career appears to reflect the ‘amateur’ approach to science seen as typical of that time, but there are also contemporary resonances in his career in administration, his close links with government, and his emphasis on utility and public understanding of science. Banks’ efforts to keep science politically acceptable during a period of rapid social change and revolution and to maintain The Royal Society's monopoly of natural knowledge, resisting pressure for fragmentation into more specialised groups, are considered in a review of his influence on the development of English science over this period.

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Sir Joseph Banks,PRS Mr Science 1778–1820

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