fbpx

KidsKonnect

Joseph Banks Facts & Worksheets

Sir Joseph Banks is an English naturalist, botanist, and explorer who is notable as a patron of the natural sciences.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /People /Figures /Joseph Banks Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Joseph Banks Worksheets
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Sir Joseph Banks is an English naturalist, botanist, and explorer who is notable as a patron of the natural sciences. He also served as the president of the Royal Society of London, and the longest serving one at that.

See the fact file below for more information on the Joseph Banks or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Joseph Banks worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Joseph Banks was born in London on January 4, 1743.
  • His father was William Banks, a rich landowner and member of the House of Commons. His mother was Sarah Bate.
  • His younger sister, Sarah Sophia Banks, who was born in 1744, was an antiquarian collector.
  • From the age of nine, Banks took admission in Harrow School, an independent school for boys.
  • In 1756, he then began his education at Eton College, a boarding school for boys in Berkshire, England.
  • His interest in nature and botany started at a young age.
  • From 1760 to 1763, he was educated at Christ Church College in Oxford, where his studies were focused on natural history.
  • He left college in 1763.
  • As his father died in 1761, when Joseph turned 21, he inherited his father’s wealth including the large estate of Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire.
  • As his interest in science increased, he began to make acquaintances and friends with men of the scientific community at the time, such as Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander and Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.

SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS

  • In 1766, Banks went on his first notable expedition aboard the frigate HMS Niger to Newfoundland and Labrador, where he collected plant and natural history specimens.
  • Two weeks upon his return to the United Kingdom (UK), Banks was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science.
  • From 1768 to 1771, Banks joined the first scientific voyage of Captain James Cook aboard HMS Endeavour, traveling to Brazil, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia. Banks’ friend, Daniel Solander, and Sydney Parkinson, a Scottish botanical illustrator, also joined the expedition.
  • In Cook’s expedition, Banks collected and drew various botanical specimens.
  • When they were in Brazil, Banks made the first scientific description of what is now known as the plant bougainvillea.
  • In Australia, their final stop before returning to England, Banks, Daniel Solander, and Finnish botanist Dr Herman Spöring Jr. made the first major collection of Australian flora, many of which were new to natural science and history.
  • Cook’s expedition originally had a party of nine but only Banks, Solander, and two other servants survived with Cook.
  • Upon his return to England on July 12, 1771, he achieved immediate fame and gained ‘hero’ status in the scientific community.
  • Unable to join Cook’s second expedition in 1772 due to disagreements with the admiralty, Banks arranged an alternative expedition with his friend Daniel Solander.
  • Their expedition was the UK’s first scientific expedition to Iceland.
  • Beginning in July 1772, they traveled to the Isle of Wight, the Hebrides, Iceland, and the Orkney Islands.
  • The focus of the expedition was to climb famous Icelandic volcano Mt. Hekla and measure the spouting hot springs.
  • They were able to collect many botanical specimens and returned to London in November of the same year.
  • Banks consequently became the leading British expert on Iceland.
  • In 1773 Banks toured the south of Wales with Paul Sandby, an English artist and illustrator.

SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS

  • His Icelandic expedition was his final voyage and Banks settled in London, where he built a massive library and herbarium at his home in Soho Square, making his home one of the scientific and social centers of London and his herbarium one of the most important in existence.
  • Banks is credited for bringing 1,400 new plant discoveries home to England, and 30,000 plant specimens in total.
  • He also became the advisor of King George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as a trustee of the British Museum.
  • Banks made Kew the world’s leading botanical gardens as he sent botanists around the world to collect plants and search for new specimens.
  • Many scientific expeditions were approved and executed under the supervision of Banks.
  • Banks made the first scientific descriptions of eucalyptus, acacia, and mimosa in the West.
  • Approximately 80 species of plants were named after him.
  • Banksia is a genus named after him.
  • Despite political conflicts between Europe and America at the time, Sir Joseph Banks proved to be a man of influence as he fostered good relations among scientists coming from the two nations.
  • Banks’ Florilegium, a collection of copperplate engravings of plants collected in the voyage of Captain Cook, was published in 35 volumes between 1980 and 1990.

IMPORTANT POSITIONS

  • In 1773, Banks was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
  • In 1774, he was elected to the Dilettante Society, and became the society’s secretary from 1778 to 1797.
  • On November 30, 1778, he was elected president of the Royal Society and became the society’s longest serving president as he held that position for over 41 years.
  • In 1781, Banks was made a baronet.
  • In 1795, he was made a Knight Commander of Bath.
  • In 1797, he was admitted to the Privy Council.
  • In 1802, he was appointed an associate of the Institute of France.

PERSONAL LIFE AND DEATH

  • Banks married Dorothea Hugessen, the eldest daughter of a wealthy landowner in Kent, in March 1779. They did not have any children.
  • At 77 years old, Joseph Banks died in London in 1820. He was buried at St. Leonard’s Church, Heston.

Joseph Banks Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Joseph Banks across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Joseph Banks worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Sir Joseph Banks who is an English naturalist, botanist, and explorer who is notable as a patron of the natural sciences. He also served as the president of the Royal Society of London, and the longest serving one at that.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Joseph Banks Facts
  • Applicable Titles
  • Biography of Banks
  • Major Discovery
  • Joseph’s Best Qualities
  • Who’s That Explorer?
  • About the Acacia
  • Cartoon Analysis
  • Key Life Events
  • According to Sir Banks
  • My Exploration

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Joseph Banks Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 5, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources