biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1743–1820)
|
| biography:
| Botanist, born in London, UK. He studied at Oxford, and in 1766 made a voyage to Newfoundland collecting plants. He then accompanied James Cook's expedition round the world in the Endeavour (1768–71). In 1778 he was elected president of the Royal Society, an office he held for 41 years. An important patron of science, he founded the African Association, and the colony of New South Wales owed its origin mainly to him. Through him the bread-fruit was transferred from Tahiti to the West Indies, and the mango was introduced from Bengal, along with many fruits of Ceylon and Persia. |
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