John Gilbert Baker
John Gilbert Baker was an English botanist. His son was the botanist Edmund Gilbert Baker.
Biography
Baker was born in Guisborough in North Yorkshire, the son of John and Mary Baker, and died in Kew. He lived in Thirsk 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 and Handbook of the Irideae. Baker issued several exsiccata-like series, among others the series Herbarium of British Roses .
He married Hannah Unthank in 1860. Their son Edmund was one of twins, and his twin brother died before 1887.
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.
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;
- Hieracium bakerianum
- Hymenostegia bakeriana
- Iris reticulata var. bakeriana
- Lilium bakerianum
- Rhodolaena bakeriana
- ''Rubus bakerianus''
Selected publications