John HillDied 21 Nov 1775 (born c. 1716).English writer and botanist who compiled the first book on British flora to be based on the Linnaean nomenclature. While an apothecary by trade, he studied botany in his spare time. Employed by the Duke of Richmond and Lord Petre to arrange their collections of plants, he travelled extensively to collect rare plants for them. He also wrote plays, novels, and papers on natural history, medicine, astronomy, and geology. He edited the monthly British Magazine (1746-50) and contributed a daily society-gossip column to The London Advertiser and the Literary Gazette. In 1759, the first of the 26 folio volumes (1759-75) of his Vegetable System was published, containing 1,600 copper plate engravings, represented 26,000 different plants. |
