Lindley, John 1799-1865

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Lindley was a famous botanist and horticulturist and became Professor of Botany in University College, London.

He was the author of a number of books including:

Rosarum monographia; or a Botanical History of Roses (1820)
An Outline of the First Principles of Horticulture (1832)
Ladies Botany (1834)
The Theory and Practice of Horticulture (1840)
Pomologia Brittannica (1841)
The Vegetable Kingdom (1846)

He was known for his love of plants in boyhood and on leaving school was sent to Belgium as an agent for a London seed merchant. On returning he again devoted himself to botany and became acquainted with Sir William Hooker, the great 19th Century British botanist. He also became Assistant Librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, who was also a famous botanist of the 19th Century. He organized the first successful flower show of the Royal Horticultural Society in London in the late 1830's.

He became the first Professor of Botany in the University of London, an office he held until 1860 when he became Emeritus Professor. His lectures were clear, concise, and profusely illustrated and attracted large numbers of pupils. He prepared careful notes and diagrams for his lectures. It was on behalf of his pupils that his chief works were written. He presented extraordinary energy and power in his work. Method, zeal, and perseverance were his familiar watchwords. He was a corresponding member of many foreign societies.

The book The Theory and Practice of Horticulture (1840) was translated into nearly every European language. He contributed numerous reports to Transactions of the Horticultural Society upon new plants in their gardens, accompanied by notes on doubleness of flowers, rate of growth and action of frost. He was the principal editor of Gardeners' Chronicle until his death. In this he persistently advocated the better education of gardeners and the cheapening of glass as a means of popularizing the greenhouse and conservatory.

His book The Theory and Practice of Horticulture (1840) was also published in an American Edition and had a profound influence on American horticulturists of the 19th Century.