Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911) was one of the most eminent botanists of the later nineteenth century. Educated at Glasgow, he developed his studies of plant life by examining specimens all over the world. After several successful scientific expeditions, first to the Antarctic and later to India, he was appointed to succeed his father as Director of the Botanical Gardens at Kew. Hooker was the first to hear of and support Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, and over their long friendship the two scientists exchanged many letters. Another close friend was the scientist T. H. Huxley, and it was the latter's son, Leonard (1860–1933), who published this standard biography in 1918. The first volume describes Hooker's early life and his career up to 1860. It includes many letters to Darwin as the two men discussed the new theories and the publication of On the Origin of Species.
