Science ‘subservient to profit’? William Jackson Hooker and the first Glasgow Botanic Gardens (1817–1841)

Bibliographic Data

ID7170222
AuthorsMélanie Cournil (0000-0003-3447-432X, Sorbonne Université, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume58
Issue1
Pages39-59
Publication date2025-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe British Journal for the History of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0874 • E-ISSN: 1474-001X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0007087424001456
PMID39989191
OpenAlexW4407899517
LanguageEN
References cited6

This article examines the scientific legacy of the first Glasgow Botanic Gardens and the part they played in the global circulation of botanical knowledge, from their creation in 1817 to their relocation to the West End of Glasgow in 1841. Located in a thriving industrial city with strong commercial ties to the British Caribbean, the gardens stood at an important crossroads of political and economic interests, scientific discovery, cultural innovation and imperial motives. They were managed by the talented English botanist William Jackson Hooker, who strove to transform them into a training ground for prospective botanists and a leading scientific institution. Yet, like many other botanical establishments of similar stature at the time, the gardens encountered many financial setbacks that hampered their success and threatened the scientific ambitions of Hooker and his peers. This article discusses the extent of the gardens’ scientific contribution within and beyond the borders of Britain and seeks to determine the degree to which science in these gardens was constrained by economic factors

Economic history · Environmental ethics · Political science · Politics · Relocation · Scientific discovery · Social science · Sociology · Thriving · Historical and Literary Studies · History · History of Science and Natural History · Law · Mediterranean and Iberian flora and fauna · Philosophy

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