Article ID: CBB001220954

A Life More Ordinary: The Dull Life but Interesting Times of Joseph Dalton Hooker (2011)

unapi

Endersby, Jim (Author)


Journal of the History of Biology
Volume: 44
Pages: 611--631


Publication Date: 2011
Edition Details: Part of a special issue: “Scientific Biography: A Many Faced Art Form”
Language: English

The life of Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817--1911) provides an invaluable lens through which to view mid-Victorian science. A biographical approach makes it clear that some well-established narratives about this period need revising. For example, Hooker's career cannot be considered an example of the professionalisation of the sciences, given the doubtful respectability of being paid to do science and his reliance on unpaid collectors with pretensions to equal scientific and/or social status. Nor was Hooker's response to Darwin's theories either straightforward or contradictory; it only makes sense as carefully crafted equivocation when seen in the context of his life and career. However, the importance of Hooker's life is ultimately its typicality; what was true of Hooker was true of many other Victorian men of science.

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Article Harman, Oren (2011) Introduction to the Special Issue---“Scientific Biography: A Many Faced Art Form”. Journal of the History of Biology (p. 607). unapi

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001220954/

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Authors & Contributors
Endersby, Jim
Dowe, John Leslie
John Simons
Zevenhuizen, Erik J. A.
Shteir, A. B.
Owen, Janet
Concepts
Botany
Biographies
Collectors and collecting
Natural history
Professions and professionalization
Imperialism
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
18th century
20th century
Places
Great Britain
Australia
Tahiti
Pacific Northwest (North America)
London (England)
Turkey
Institutions
London Zoo
University of Sydney
Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
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