481 



HOOKER, SIR WILLIAM JACKSON. 



HOOPER, JOHN. 



432 



the opinions of the divines of Geneva. Travers being silenced by 

 Archbishop Whitgift, appealed to the privy-council, but without suc- 

 cess. His petition to the council was published, and answered by 

 Hooker. Travers had many adherents in the Temple, and it was their 

 opposition, according to Izaak Walton, which induced Hooker to 

 commence his work on the ' Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.' Finding 

 that he had not leisure at the Temple to complete that work, he 

 applied to Whitgift for removal to a more quiet station, and was 

 accordingly presented to the living of Boscombe in Wiltshire in 1591. 

 On the 17th of July in the same year he was made a prebendary of 

 Salisbury. At Boscombe he finished four books of the ' Ecclesiastical 

 Polity,' which were published in 1594. On the 7th of July 1595 he 

 was presented by the queen to the living of Bishopsbourne in Kent, 

 which he held till his death, on the 2nd of November 1600. He was 

 interred in the church at Eishopsbourne, where a monument was 

 afterwards erected to hie memory by Sir William Cowper. 



Hooker's manner was grave even in childhood ; the mildness of his 

 temper was proved by his moderation in controversy ; and his piety 

 and learning procured him the general esteem of his contemporaries. 

 His great work is his defence of the constitution and discipline of the 

 Church of England, in eight books, under the title of ' The Laws of 

 Ecclesiastical Polity.' This work obtained during the author's lifetime 

 the praise of a pope (Clement VIII.) and a king (James I.), and has 

 ever since been looked upon as one of the chief bulwarks of the Church 

 of England and of ecclesiastical establishments in general. As a work 

 of solid learning, profound reasoning, and breadth and sustained dignity 

 of style, it is indeed beyond praise ; but the common objection is a 

 just one, that Hooker's reasoning is too frequently that of an advocate. 

 The publication of the first four books has been mentioned above; the 

 fifth was published in 1597. He completed the last three books, but 

 they were not published till several years after his death. The account 

 which Walton gives of the mutilation of the lost three books is very 

 improbable, and little doubt can be entertained of their authenticity, 

 though they are certainly imperfect, and probably not in the condition 

 in which he left them. 



Besides the ' Ecclesiastical Polity,' Hooker left some tracts and 

 sermons. The latest and best editions of his works are those printed 

 at the Clarendon Press, Oxford. 



HOOKER, SIR WILLIAM JACKSON, an eminent botanist, was 

 born in the year 1785 at Norwich. He was originally destined for 

 trade, but hU love of botany induced him early in life to make a tour 

 in Iceland, for the purpose of studying its natural history. He 

 unfortunately lost the whole of his collection, but in 1809 he published 

 his ' Tour in Iceland,' in which he gave an account of the plants of 

 that island. He subsequently devoted himself entirely to the pursuit 

 of botany, and baa published a great variety of valuable works in 

 different departments of this science. In 1812 he published the first 

 part of bis ' Monograph on the British Jungermannue,' which was com- 

 pleted in 1S16. In this year he also undertook the continuation of 

 Curtia's ' Flora Londinensis,' in which a variety of new plants were 

 described. In 1818, in conjunction with Dr. Taylor, he published the 

 ' Muacologia Britannica,' in which for the first time a complete account 

 was given of the British mosses. In 1821 he published the 'Flora 

 Scotica,' and in 1S23 he commenced the ' Exotic Flora,' a work em- 

 bracing figures and descriptions of new, rare, or otherwise interesting 

 exotic plants, especially such aa were desirable for cultivation. In this 

 work a large number of new plants were for the first time described 

 and figured. He also edited a continuation of Curtis's 'Botanical 

 Magazine,' and from 182S to 1833 published a ' Botanical Miscellany,' 

 in which also figures and descriptions of plants were given, and espe- 

 cially of those which were of use in the arts, medicine, or domestic 

 economy. This work with the same design has been continued in the 

 ' Journal of Botany.' From 1826 to 1837, Sir William Hooker was 

 employed in publishing, in conjunction with Dr. Greviile of Edinburgh, 

 the ' Icones Filicuuj,' consisting of figures and descriptions of Ferns. 

 Assisted by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, he published a continuation of 

 Smith's 'English Flora,' comprising the Fungi. In 1830 he brought 

 oat the ' British Flora,' a work containing a complete description of 

 British plants. This work, like Smith's ' English Botany and Flora,' 

 was originally published on the Linncean or artificial system of classi- 

 fication, but on its reaching the fifth edition, the natural system was 

 adopted. Aa editor of the ' Journal of Botany,' and one of the editors 

 of the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' Sir William Hooker 

 baa described a large number of plants, and he deservedly ranks 

 amongst the most distinguished cultivators of systematic botany of 

 the present century. 



For many years Sir W. J. Hooker was Professor of Botany in the 

 University of Glasgow. He was removed from this position to that 

 which he at present occupies as Director of the Royal Gardens of 

 Kew. His management of the Botanic Garden of Glasgow and his 

 extensive knowledge of plants prepared him to do justice to this 

 position. From the time this garden was placed under bis direction, a 

 continued series of improvements have taken place, and it now stands 

 unrivalled in the world for the variety and beauty of its collections 

 of living plants. Under bis management the large conservatory and 

 Other new houses have been erected. The museum of the useful 

 products of the vegetable kingdom was also commenced under his 

 direction, and a new building is now erecting (1856) for this truly 



EIOO. DIV. VOL, III. 



national collection. The facilities of access have also been greatly 

 increased, and these gardens are bidding fair to become a great edu- 

 cational establishment for the diffusion amongst the people of a 

 knowledge of the natural history of the vegetable kingdom. He has 

 also published a very useful popular guide to the treasures which the 

 garden contains. 



In 1836 Sir William Jackson Hooker was knighted, and he is one 

 of the few men of science in this country who have received this 

 honour on account of their scientific attainments. He has been for 

 many years one of the vice-presidents of the Linmcan Society, and a 

 Fellow of the Royal Society. He is also an honorary member of 

 many foreign scientific societies. In 1845 he received the honorary 

 degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford. In 1855 he was 

 made knight of the Legion of Honour. In 1814 Sir W. J. Hooker 

 married the eldest daughter of Dawson Turner, Esq., F.R.S., of Yar- 

 mouth, who is well known for his devotion to natural history pursuits. 

 * HOOKER, JOSEPH DAL'TON, M.D., the only surviving son of 

 Sir William Jackson Hooker, is, like his father, distinguished as a 

 botanist. Educated for the medical profession, and holding the degree 

 of Doctor of Medicine, Dr. Hooker has forsaken the practice of his 

 profession for the more fascinating pursuit in which his father has so 

 greatly distinguished himself. Dr. Hooker is already known as a 

 traveller, and his contributions to the science of botany are so exten- 

 sive and valuable, that the son's reputation is bidding fair to eclipse 

 that of the father. In 1839, on the occasion of the fitting out of the 

 expedition to the Antarctic Ocean, under Sir James Ross, Dr. Hooker 

 was appointed assistant-surgeon on board the Erebus. Although 

 appointed surgeon, his real object was to investigate the botany of the 

 district through which the expedition passed an object which was 

 generously encouraged by the enlightened commander of the squadron. 

 The result was the publication of the ' Flora Antarctica," in which 

 Dr. Hooker has not only figured and described a large number of new 

 plants, but by comparison of the species obtained in this voyage with 

 those of other parts of the world, has succeeded in advancing greatly 

 our knowledge of the laws which govern the distribution of plants 

 over the surface of the earth. In 1848 Dr. Hooker started on another 

 expedition. He had investigated the plants of temperate and cold 

 climates, and he could not rest till he had investigated those of 

 tropical countries. His choice lay between the Andes and the Hima- 

 laya, and it fortunately fell upon the latter. His route lay through 

 districts not under British superintendence : his adventures were 

 numerous, and his position occasionally even dangerous, having been 

 for some time kept prisoner by the presiding governor of a district 

 in the Sikkim-Himalaya. He returned to England in 1852, and 

 published his ' Himalayan Journals,' in 2 vols., constituting one of the 

 most readable contributions to scientific travelling that has been made 

 during the present century. His ' Himalayan Journals' however give 

 but an imperfect idea of his scientific labours. His large collections 

 of plants, and the first volume of a large work entitled ' Flora Indica,' 

 afford the best evidence of the industry and intelligence displayed 

 during his three years' peregrinations in the Sikkim and Nepal Hima- 

 layas. Some of his contributions to scientific botany are better known 

 than his 'Flora Indica;' thus in 1851, long before he returned to 

 this country, the public were surprised at receiving from his pen and 

 pencil descriptions, with beautiful illustrations, of a large number of 

 new species of Rhododendrons from the Sikkim-Himalaya. Many of 

 these species have been since introduced, and are the glory of our 

 annual exhibitions of Rhododendrons and their allied forms. In these 

 travels Dr. Hooker received considerable assistance from the govern- 

 ment, but a large proportion of the expense was defrayed from his own 

 private resources. 



Previous to his travels in the Himalaya, Dr. Hooker held an appoint- 

 ment in the Museum of Economic Geology, and has contributed a 

 most valuable paper to the second volume of the ' Transactions' of 

 that institution. This paper was on a subject with which he was 

 peculiarly fitted to deal, and was entitled ' On the Vegetation of the 

 Carboniferous Period, as compared with that of the present day.' 



On his return from the Himalaya, Dr. Hooker married the eldest 

 daughter of the Rev. W. Henslow, Professor of Botany in the Univer- 

 sity of Cambridge. He is one of the examiners of the candidates for 

 the East India medical service. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, 

 and a member of the council of the Liunaeau Society. 



HOOPER, JOHN, one of the most venerated martyrs of the 

 Reformation, was born in Somersetshire about 1495, and educated at 

 Oxford, where, by study of the Scriptures and the works of the foreign 

 reformers, he was converted to Protestantism. On this account he 

 found it expedient to quit the university, and finally the kingdom, 

 apparently about 1540. For some years he led a wandering life, part 

 of which was spent in Switzerland, the stronghold of the Reformation, 

 where he met with a most friendly reception from the chief divines. 

 On the accession of Edward VI. in 1547, he returned to England, and 

 settled in London, where he was very diligent, and greatly followed 

 and admired as a preacher. In 1550 he was appointed bishop of 

 Gloucester ; but his assumption of the office was long delayed by his 

 scrupulousness as to the use of the episcopal dress. By way of over- 

 coming his reluctance he was confined to his own house, and finally 

 committed, during some months, to the Fleet prison. Even the Swiss 

 divines however regretted that his influence in the Church should 



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