K
Kathy
Guest
I know I have bored many of you silly with this in the past, but for those that have missed it this time of the year is very special to me and my family as the display of the absolutely beautiful Rhododendrons, give me a feeling of personal proudness as my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather (Hooker) brought many of these species to the UK from his many extensive travels around the world.
I am hoping one day to follow the route of some of his many explorations as he had the most fascinating life and did absolute wonders for the world of flora and fauna. I have many, many books about him. He was an absolutely fascinating person, as was his son, and sometimes I wonder why none of his expertise has rubbed off (via the generations) onto me.
If you want me to post some more, please let me know but I won't hold my breath!!! 
India and the Himalaya
The imperial context and importance of Hooker’s work is also evident in his trip to the central and eastern Himalaya (1847–49). Hooker obtained a government grant for the trip and the Admiralty gave him free passage on the ships taking Lord Dalhousie, the newly-appointed Governor General, to India.
After visiting Calcutta, Hooker went to Darjeeling where he met Brian Houghton Hodgson, an expert on Nepalese culture, Buddhism and collector of Sanskrit manuscripts who was also a passionate naturalist. The two became close friends and Hodgson helped Hooker prepare for his trip into the Himalaya. However, by the time Hooker was ready to set off for Sikkim in 1848, Hodgson was too ill to accompany him and Dr. Archibald Campbell, the British government agent, went instead.
Sikkim – a small and impoverished state – was bordered by Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, as well as British India. Its Rajah was understandably anxious not to annoy any of his powerful neighbours so he and his chief minister, the Dewan, were particularly suspicious of travellers like Hooker who surveyed and made maps during their travels. (Their suspicions proved well-founded, as Hooker’s maps later proved to have both economic and military importance to the British.) When Hooker first sought permission to enter Sikkim, the Dewan made considerable efforts to prevent him, and even after pressure from the British administration forced the Dewan to submit, he obstructed their progress in various ways. He particularly urged them not to cross the northern border with Tibet during their explorations, but Hooker and Campbell knowingly ignored his order and the border violation was used by the Dewan as a pretext to arrest and imprison them in November 1849. The British government secured their release within weeks by threatening to invade Sikkim. The elderly Rajah was punished with the annexation of some of his land and the withdrawal of his British pension; a response that even some of the British thought excessive.
Following his release, Hooker spent 1850 travelling with Thomas Thomson in Eastern Bengal and the two returned to England in 1851. Together they wrote the first volume of a projected Flora Indica (1855), which was never completed because of a lack of support from the East India Company (although Hooker eventually produced the Flora of British India, 1872–1897). However, the introductory essay on the geographical relations of India’s flora was to be one of Hooker’s most important statements on biogeographical issues.
Hooker in the Himalaya.
Altogether Hooker collected about 7,000 species in India and Nepal and on his return to England, managed to secure another government grant while he classified and named them. The first publication was the Rhododendrons of the Sikkim-Himalaya (1849–51), edited by his father and illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch, whose fine drawings enriched many of both Hookers’ publications. Hooker and Campbell’s travels added 25 new rhododendron species to the 50 already known and the spectacular new species they introduced into Britain helped create a rhododendron craze among British gardeners. Hooker’s journey also produced his Himalayan Journals (1854), which were dedicated to Darwin.
I am hoping one day to follow the route of some of his many explorations as he had the most fascinating life and did absolute wonders for the world of flora and fauna. I have many, many books about him. He was an absolutely fascinating person, as was his son, and sometimes I wonder why none of his expertise has rubbed off (via the generations) onto me.
If you want me to post some more, please let me know but I won't hold my breath!!! India and the Himalaya
The imperial context and importance of Hooker’s work is also evident in his trip to the central and eastern Himalaya (1847–49). Hooker obtained a government grant for the trip and the Admiralty gave him free passage on the ships taking Lord Dalhousie, the newly-appointed Governor General, to India.
After visiting Calcutta, Hooker went to Darjeeling where he met Brian Houghton Hodgson, an expert on Nepalese culture, Buddhism and collector of Sanskrit manuscripts who was also a passionate naturalist. The two became close friends and Hodgson helped Hooker prepare for his trip into the Himalaya. However, by the time Hooker was ready to set off for Sikkim in 1848, Hodgson was too ill to accompany him and Dr. Archibald Campbell, the British government agent, went instead.
Sikkim – a small and impoverished state – was bordered by Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, as well as British India. Its Rajah was understandably anxious not to annoy any of his powerful neighbours so he and his chief minister, the Dewan, were particularly suspicious of travellers like Hooker who surveyed and made maps during their travels. (Their suspicions proved well-founded, as Hooker’s maps later proved to have both economic and military importance to the British.) When Hooker first sought permission to enter Sikkim, the Dewan made considerable efforts to prevent him, and even after pressure from the British administration forced the Dewan to submit, he obstructed their progress in various ways. He particularly urged them not to cross the northern border with Tibet during their explorations, but Hooker and Campbell knowingly ignored his order and the border violation was used by the Dewan as a pretext to arrest and imprison them in November 1849. The British government secured their release within weeks by threatening to invade Sikkim. The elderly Rajah was punished with the annexation of some of his land and the withdrawal of his British pension; a response that even some of the British thought excessive.
Following his release, Hooker spent 1850 travelling with Thomas Thomson in Eastern Bengal and the two returned to England in 1851. Together they wrote the first volume of a projected Flora Indica (1855), which was never completed because of a lack of support from the East India Company (although Hooker eventually produced the Flora of British India, 1872–1897). However, the introductory essay on the geographical relations of India’s flora was to be one of Hooker’s most important statements on biogeographical issues.
Hooker in the Himalaya.
Altogether Hooker collected about 7,000 species in India and Nepal and on his return to England, managed to secure another government grant while he classified and named them. The first publication was the Rhododendrons of the Sikkim-Himalaya (1849–51), edited by his father and illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch, whose fine drawings enriched many of both Hookers’ publications. Hooker and Campbell’s travels added 25 new rhododendron species to the 50 already known and the spectacular new species they introduced into Britain helped create a rhododendron craze among British gardeners. Hooker’s journey also produced his Himalayan Journals (1854), which were dedicated to Darwin.
They're beautiful plants, but they do eventually take over very ruthlessly if unchecked, and deny light and nutriment to anything else.
Joseph's picture hung on the wall of Darwin's study for many years, and he was also a pall bearer at this funeral such was their close friendship.