Alfred William Bennett
| Alfred William Bennett | |
|---|---|
Alfred William Bennett
|
|
| Born |
24 June 1833 Clapham, Surrey, United Kingdom |
| Died | 23 January 1902 (aged 68) London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields |
Botany, Publishing, Microscopy |
| Institutions |
St Thomas' Hospital, Bedford College |
| Alma mater | University College London |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | A.W.Benn. |
Alfred William Bennett (June 24, 1833 – January 23, 1902) was a British botanist and publisher. He was best known for his work on the flora of the Swiss Alps, cryptogams, and the Polygalaceae or Milkwort plant family, as well as his years in the publishing industry.
Alfred William Bennett was son of Quakers William Bennett (1804–1873), a successful tea dealer, amateur botanist, and sometime emu breeder, and Elizabeth (Trusted) Bennett (1798–1891), an author of religious books for the Society of Friends. William Bennett also corresponded with biologist Charles Darwin, though he did not accept the latter’s theories concerning evolutionary biology. Alfred Bennett, a lifelong believer in evolution unlike his father, would later establish his own correspondence with the noted theorist.
William Bennett took great interest in the education of his children, whom he schooled at home. The elder Bennett was influenced in his ideas of education by the writings of the Swiss philosopher and educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and in the winter of 1841–1842, he took his family to Switzerland so that his children could study at the Pestalozzian School at Appenzell. It was during this trip that Alfred Bennett learned the German language, a skill that would help him in his future writings on Alpine plant life.
William Bennett also created an environment conducive to the study of the natural sciences for his children. Between 1851-1854, he took Alfred and his brother Edward Trusted Bennett (1831–1908) on several walking tours of Wales and the western regions of England, where the boys studied British flora and took extensive notes on their observations. Their father also introduced them to noted entomologists and family friends Edward Newman, Henry Doubleday, and Edward Doubleday.
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