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.
