William Hooker and his son Joseph were famous as botanists and as the creators of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Joseph was famous also as the friend and mentor of Charles Darwin. But there was another brother, a little older than Joseph, also a doctor and naturalist. He went to Jamaica in the interests of his health and soon died there of yellow fever. His life was short and tragic with a medical conundrum at its end but its story also illustrates many of the beliefs and concerns that preoccupied doctors in this early Victorian era. It also illustrates the close relationship between medicine and botany that prevailed then.
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References
1.
AllenM. The Hookers of Kew. London: Michael Joseph, 1967
2.
Archives, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
3.
HookerWD. Notes on Norway; or a brief journal of a tour made to the Northern parts of Norway, in the summer of MDCCCXXXVI. Glasgow: G Richardson, 1839
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Inaugural Dissertation upon the Cinchonas: their history, usage, and effects by William Dawson Hooker MD, Candidate for admission as a member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Glasgow: University Press, Edward Khull, 1839
5.
BentleyE, ed. Physician and Patient; or, a practical view of the mutual duties, relations and interests of the medical profession and the community from the text of William Hooker. London: Richard Bentley, 1850. The title page is incorrect. The author is Worthington Hooker (1806–67)
