Today marks the 200th anniversary of the appointment of John Stevens Henslow as Professor of Botany at Cambridge, a role in which he inspired generations of botanists, including Charles Darwin.
Henslow (1796-1861) was sworn in by the Vice-Chancellor as the King’s Reader in Botany on 10th October 1825, and held the position until his death 36 years later. His knowledge revitalised the teaching and research of natural history more generally, and he oversaw the incorporation of botany into Cambridge’s Natural Sciences Tripos in 1851.
As a friend and mentor to Charles Darwin, Henslow encouraged Darwin’s study of plant diversity, proposed that he should travel on HMS Beagle as its naturalist, inspired his passion for natural history and promoted his work to a wider audience.
Henslow was also responsible for the removal of the University Botanic Garden to its current 40-acre site in 1846, and expanded the Cambridge University Herbarium, adding over 10,000 specimens and establishing it as a valuable resource for research.
“Building a world-class herbarium was central to Henslow’s research and teaching at Cambridge – gathering a global collection to better understand the extent, utility and diversity of God’s creation. Henslow recommended many positions on global voyages – perhaps the most well-known being Charles Darwin’s participation in the voyage on HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836,” explains Darwin Bye-Fellow Dr Edwin Rose, Early Career Fellow at the University of Leeds.
“When teaching and building the Herbarium, Henslow employed innovative printed technologies ranging from wallcharts to printed pamphlets asking correspondents and travellers to send specimens. Many proved fundamental in revising both research and teaching practices in 19th century Cambridge,” he says.
In 1819, Henslow co-founded the Cambridge Philosophical Society, in collaboration with Adam Sedgwick and Edward Clarke, with the aim of promoting scientific research and enquiry. Following his death in 1861 at the age of 65 Charles Darwin wrote “I believe a better man never walked this earth.”