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Excerpt from The Life of Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society: With Some Notices of His Friends and Contemporaries With the idea of presenting to modern readers an unfamiliar side of the eighteenth century, in which Science and Public Spirit would be represented, it appeared to me that a prominent figure could be chosen to serve as a common centre. The eye fell upon the name of Sir Joseph Banks: concerning whom many persons have vague notions of a distinguished character, not yet unveiled to the student of English social history. Banks's record is that of a man of unbounded Public Spirit. Science was his passion, and the public service through the applications of science was his constant aim. Fortune favoured him in several ways, and he left an enduring mark upon the times in which he lived. The ensuing pages will be something of a revelation; especiallyin the devotion and regard shown to Banks by so many varied characters among his cotemporaries. The man has practically vanished from our ken, as an individual; but, as the tale develops, we shall discover that Banks was the inspiring agent of a number of useful works which have permanently benefited the world. A detailed life of this worthy man has always been wanted. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.