John Joseph Bennett
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Bennett was a British
botanist.
Bennett was assistant keeper of the Banksian
herbarium and library at the British Museum
from 1827 to 1858, when he succeeded Robert Brown
as Keeper of the Botanical Department. He retired in 1870. He was secretary of the Linnean Society of London
from 1840 to 1860. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
in 1841.
On the evening of 30 June 1858, Charles Lyell
and Joseph Dalton Hooker
passed on to him papers by Alfred Russel Wallace
and Charles Darwin
, titled "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection" respectively. As secretary of the Linnean Society at a meeting on the following evening, 1 June, he read out the papers together with a covering note by Lyell and Hooker. This was the joint publication by Darwin and Wallace of their papers setting out the theory of natural selection
, which was received quietly at the time but attracted wide interest when Darwin published On the Origin of Species
eighteen months later.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
botanist.
Bennett was assistant keeper of the Banksian
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
herbarium and library at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
from 1827 to 1858, when he succeeded Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
as Keeper of the Botanical Department. He retired in 1870. He was secretary of the Linnean Society of London
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
from 1840 to 1860. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1841.
On the evening of 30 June 1858, Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
and Joseph Dalton Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
passed on to him papers by Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
and Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, titled "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection" respectively. As secretary of the Linnean Society at a meeting on the following evening, 1 June, he read out the papers together with a covering note by Lyell and Hooker. This was the joint publication by Darwin and Wallace of their papers setting out the theory of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, which was received quietly at the time but attracted wide interest when Darwin published On the Origin of Species
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
eighteen months later.