Peter Collinson (botanist) facts for kids
Peter Collinson (born January 1694 – died August 11, 1768) was an English gardener, plant expert, and horticulturist. He was a member of the Royal Society, a famous group for scientists. Collinson loved gardening and helped scientists from different countries share their discoveries in London during the Georgian era (the time of the King Georges).
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Peter Collinson's Life
Peter Collinson was born in London. His father was a cloth merchant. Peter joined his father's business, but he also became very interested in botany, which is the study of plants. His family were part of a religious group called the Quakers.
In 1728, Collinson became a member of the Royal Society. This was a big honor for him.
Helping Others
Collinson cared about helping people. He supported a plan by Thomas Coram and William Hogarth to create a special place for babies whose mothers could not care for them. This place was called the Foundling Hospital. King George II agreed to the idea in 1739. Collinson was one of the first people to help run the hospital.
His Love for Plants
Even though Peter Collinson was a cloth merchant, his real passion was gardening. He traded a lot with North America. Through his business contacts, he was able to get seeds and plants from all over the world.
Collinson had his own amazing plant collections. First, he had them at a place called Peckham, and later at Mill Hill. These collections became very well known.
Bringing New Plants to England
Collinson realized that people in England wanted new and interesting plants. In the late 1730s, he started bringing plant seeds from North America to England. He paid John Bartram, a plant collector, to travel and gather these seeds.
Every year, Collinson shared the new seeds from Bartram with important people in Britain. These included gardeners, plant sellers, and scientists.
Collinson also supported an artist and natural historian named Mark Catesby. Catesby wrote a famous book called Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands.
Sharing Ideas with Scientists
Peter Collinson wrote many letters to scientists in London and other countries. He was friends with famous people like Carl Linnaeus, who created the system for naming plants and animals. He was also friends with Benjamin Franklin, a famous American inventor and statesman.
Collinson was a big supporter of the scientists in Philadelphia, USA. He helped the American Philosophical Society, a science group started by Bartram and Franklin in 1743. He also bought books for the Library Company of Philadelphia for many years.
It was through Collinson that Benjamin Franklin first shared his ideas about electricity with the Royal Society. These ideas were later published in a book called Experiments and Observations on Electricity in 1751.
In 1747, Collinson was chosen as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Collinson's Legacy at Mill Hill
Peter Collinson lived in Mill Hill. The house he lived in is now part of Mill Hill School. The school even has a building named Collinson House. They also have a Cedars House, named after the cedar trees that Collinson himself planted there.
