James Gordon (1708–1780) was a

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

who became a

nurseryman A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...

, and later a seed merchant in London, specializing in exotics such as

camellias ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 descri ...

and

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan region, b ...

.Desmond, R. & Ellwood, C. (1994). ''Dictionary of British & Irish Botanists & Horticulturists''. p.286. CRC Press.

/ref> He is also credited with the introduction of the American Elm, ''

Ulmus americana ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very Hardiness (plants), hardy ...

'', in 1752.Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913).
The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland
''. Vol. VII. p.1855. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press, Appointed gardener to

James Sherard James Sherard (1 November 1666 – 12 February 1738) was an English apothecary, botanist, and amateur musician. Career Sherard was born in Bushby, Leicestershire to George and Mary Sherwood; it is unknown why his surname was changed. His older ...

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

in 1730, he progressed to Lord Petre's estate at

Thorndon Hall Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London. Formerly the country seat of the Petre family who now reside at nearby ...

, Essex, in 1738 before starting a nursery at

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

in 1742, later moving to

Bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

, and establishing a seed shop at the Thistle & Crown, 25 Fenchurch Street. His sons, William, James, and Alexander, assumed control of the nursery in 1776. Although a correspondent of

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, he never wrote works of his own. "He had more knowledge in vegetation than all the gardeners and writers in England put together, but is too modest to publish anything".Ellis, ''Gordonia''. He died at Barking, Essex, on 20 December 1780.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, James 1708 births 1780 deaths British botanists