John Gilbert Baker

John Gilbert Baker
FRS
Portrait of Baker by Berthold Carl Seemann, 1901
Born13 January 1834
Guisborough, England
Died16 August 1920 (aged 86)
Kew, Richmond upon Thames, England
OccupationBotanist
Spouse
Hannah Unthank
​
(m. 1860⁠–⁠1902)​
ChildrenEdmund Gilbert Baker
Scientific career
Baker

John Gilbert Baker FRS (13 January 1834 – 16 August 1920) was a British botanist and keeper of the Herbarium at Kew Gardens.

Biography

Baker was born in Guisborough in North Yorkshire, the son of John and Mary (née Gilbert) Baker, and died in Kew. He lived in Thirsk (North Yorkshire) until 1864 when the drapers store owned by his family burnt down. The place where he lived in the town, now called Bakers Alley, is marked by a blue plaque which was unveiled in 2005 by Professor Simon Owens who, like his renowned predecessor, was then Keeper of the Herbarium at Kew.

He was educated at Ackworth School and Bootham School, York, both being Quaker schools.

He subsequently worked at the library and herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew between 1866 and 1899, and was keeper of the herbarium from 1890 to 1899. He wrote handbooks on many plant groups, including Amaryllidaceae, Bromeliaceae, Iridaceae, Liliaceae, and ferns. His published works include Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles (1877) and Handbook of the Irideae (1892). Baker issued several exsiccata-like series, among others the series Plants of North Yorkshire and Herbarium of British Roses [Herbarium Rosarum Britannicarum].

John G. Baker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1878. as well as honorary membership of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1886. He was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1907.

Personal life

In August 1860, Baker married Hannah Unthank (died 1902). The couple had at least two children, including the botanist Edmund Gilbert Baker.

Taxa named in honour

Several plant species with the epithet bakeriana or bakeranius and bakeranium have been named in honour of John G. Baker.

Including;

Selected publications

A picture of Baker (undated, but before 1906)
The standard author abbreviation Baker is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

Notes

  1. ↑ Baker is cited as being the father of the botanist Lilian E. Porter however, Baker only had one daughter Katherine Unthank Baker (died 1918).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Desmond, Ray (23 September 2004). "Baker, John Gilbert (1834–1920), botanist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38296. Retrieved 10 June 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ↑ Britten, James (1920). Britten, James (ed.). "John Gilbert Baker (1834–1928)". The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. 58. London: Taylor and Francis: 233–238. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022 – via BHL.
  3. ↑ Woodland, Jenny (2011). Bootham School Register. York, England: BOSA.
  4. ↑ Desmond, Ray. "Baker, John Gilbert". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38296. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ↑ Triebel, D. & Scholz, P. 2001–2026 IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae. – Botanische Staatssammlung München: http://indexs.botanischestaatssammlung.de. – München, Germany.
  6. ↑ "Plants of North Yorkshire: IndExs ExsiccataID=83114880". IndExs - Index of Exsiccatae. Botanische Staatssammlung München. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Herbarium of British Roses [Herbarium Rosarum Britannicarum]: IndExs ExsiccataID=912703744". IndExs - Index of Exsiccatae. Botanische Staatssammlung München. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 30 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
  9. ↑ Memoirs and proceedings of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society FOURTH SERIES Eighth VOLUME 1894
  10. ↑ Harvey, Joy; Ogilvie, Marilyn (2000). Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (eds.). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. New York City, New York: Routledge. p. 1043. ISBN 9780415920407. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Stafleu, Frans; Cowan, Richard Sumner (1983). Taxonomic literature: a selective guide to botanical publications and collections with dates, commentaries and types. Volume IV, P-Sak (2 ed.). Bohn, West Germany: Scheltema & Holkema. p. 346. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Obituary". The Annual Monitor for 1919-1920. London: Headley Brothers. 1920. p. 4. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Dr Ross Bayton RHS Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names (2019), p. 55, at Google Books
  14. ↑ International Plant Names Index. Baker.