September 15, 2006 (Vol. 26, No. 16)
URL:
Rating:
Strong Points: Well researched
Weak Points: Nothing significant
Summary:
History fans take note, because it’s time once again for another science-related historical site to check. This one concerns Joseph Dalton Hooker, one of the most important British botanists of the 1800s and a former director of Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Starting with an image of Hooker on the opening page that looks like you could reach out and touch him, the site grabs the viewer quickly and doesn’t let go. For the uninitiated, Joseph Hooker was one of Charles Darwin’s closest friends and classifier of plants on the Galapagos Islands. The site provides visitors with an excellent profile of his life and career, with the text of a number of his journals, a hyperlinked biographical profile, a list of published sources about Hooker, a great collection of links, and a list of collectors of information on the subject. If science history is your cup of tea, this is a great place to visit.