Mr George Bentham (22 September 1800–10 September 1884)

British botanist. Son of naval architect Samuel Bentham (1757-1831) and Maria Sophia Fordyce (1765-1858), and nephew of social reformer and jurist, Jeremy Bentham. He spent much of his childhood living in France and while studying in Angoulême came across Flore Française by A. P. De Candolle which piqued his interest in plant identification. He studied law and qualified as a barrister, inheritances from his father and uncle enabled him to devote his life to botany. In 1854 he donated over 100,000 specimens to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He was secretary of the Horticultural Society of London from 1829 to 1840 (later the Royal Horticultural Society), and President of the Linnean Society of London, 1861-74. Bentham was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1859 and elected a Fellow in 1862. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1866, and was awarded the Australian Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1879. Bentham spent most of his retirement working at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. FRS.