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John Tradescant the Elder

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19-748: John Tradescant the Elder ( / t r ə ˈ d ɛ s k ə n t / ; c. 1570s – 15–16 April 1638), father of John Tradescant the Younger , was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller. John Tradescant was probably born in Suffolk. On 18 June 1607 he married Elizabeth Day of Meopham in Kent, England. She was the daughter of Jeames Day, a vicar. Tradescant began his career as head gardener to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , at Hatfield House , who initiated Tradescant in travelling by sending him to

38-625: A collection of curiosities of natural history and ethnography which he housed in a large house, "The Ark", in Lambeth , London. The Ark was the prototypical " Cabinet of Curiosity ", a collection of rare and strange objects, that became the first museum open to the public in England, the Musaeum Tradescantianum . He gathered specimens through American colonists, including his personal friend John Smith , who bequeathed Tradescant

57-581: A collection of rare and strange objects, that became the first museum open to the public in England, the Musaeum Tradescantianum . He gathered specimens through American colonists, including his personal friend John Smith , who bequeathed Tradescant a quarter of his library. From their botanical garden in Lambeth, on the south bank of the Thames , he and his son, John Tradescant the younger , introduced many plants into English gardens that have become part of

76-480: A quarter of his library. From their botanical garden in Lambeth, on the south bank of the Thames , he and his son, John Tradescant the younger , introduced many plants into English gardens that have become part of the modern gardener's repertory. He is buried in the churchyard of St-Mary-at-Lambeth, as is his son. The churchyard is now established as the Garden Museum . The Tradescant collection, which

95-603: Is a character in Jeanette Winterson 's novel "Sexing the Cherry." The standard author abbreviation Trad. is applied to species he described. John Tradescant the Elder John Tradescant the Elder ( / t r ə ˈ d ɛ s k ə n t / ; c. 1570s – 15–16 April 1638), father of John Tradescant the Younger , was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller. John Tradescant

114-636: The Ashmolean Museum , which opened in 1683. A genus of flowering plants ( Tradescantia ) was named in honour of the two men by Carl Linnaeus in 1752. Tradescant Road, off South Lambeth Road in Vauxhall , marks the former boundary of the Tradescant estate. Tradescant is the subject of the novel Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory . [REDACTED] Media related to John Tradescant the Elder at Wikimedia Commons John Tradescant

133-559: The Civil War . He published the contents of his father's celebrated collection as Musaeum Tradescantianum —books, coins, weapons, costumes, taxidermy, and other curiosities—dedicating the first edition to the Royal College of Physicians (with whom he was negotiating for the transfer of his botanic garden), and the second edition to the recently restored Charles II . Tradescant bequeathed his library and museum to (or some say it

152-510: The Low Countries for fruit trees in 1610/11. He was kept on by Robert's son William , to produce gardens at the family's London house, Salisbury House . He then designed gardens on the site of St Augustine's Abbey for Lord Wotton in 1615–1623. In 1623, Tradescant became gardener to the royal favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham , remodelling his gardens at New Hall, Essex and at Burley-on-the-Hill . He travelled to

171-756: The Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery in Arctic Russia in 1618 (his own account of the expedition survives in his collection), to the Levant and to Algiers during an expedition against the Barbary pirates in 1620, returned to the Low Countries on Buckingham's behalf in 1624, and finally went to Paris and (as an engineer for the ill-fated siege of La Rochelle ) the Île de Ré with Buckingham. After Buckingham's assassination in 1628, he

190-758: The Younger John Tradescant the Younger ( / t r ə ˈ d ɛ s k ə n t / ; 4 August 1608 – 22 April 1662), son of John Tradescant the Elder , was a botanist and gardener. The standard author abbreviation Trad. is applied to species he described. Son of John Tradescant the Elder , he was born in Meopham , Kent , and educated at The King's School , Canterbury . Like his father, who collected specimens and rarities on his many trips abroad, he undertook collecting expeditions to Virginia between 1628 and 1637 (and possibly two more trips by 1662, though Potter and other authors doubt this). Among

209-665: The expedition survives in his collection), to the Levant and to Algiers during an expedition against the Barbary pirates in 1620, returned to the Low Countries on Buckingham's behalf in 1624, and finally went to Paris and (as an engineer for the ill-fated siege of La Rochelle ) the Île de Ré with Buckingham. After Buckingham's assassination in 1628, he was engaged in 1630 by King Charles I to be keeper of His Majesty's Gardens, Vines, and Silkworms at Queen Henrietta Maria 's minor palace, Oatlands Palace in Surrey. On all his trips he collected seeds and bulbs, from which he assembled

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228-418: The family's London house, Salisbury House . He then designed gardens on the site of St Augustine's Abbey for Lord Wotton in 1615–1623. In 1623, Tradescant became gardener to the royal favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham , remodelling his gardens at New Hall, Essex and at Burley-on-the-Hill . He travelled to the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery in Arctic Russia in 1618 (his own account of

247-461: The modern gardener's repertory. He is buried in the churchyard of St-Mary-at-Lambeth, as is his son. The churchyard is now established as the Garden Museum . The Tradescant collection, which was added to significantly by Tradescant's son, John Tradescant the Younger , was later given to the University of Oxford by Elias Ashmole . It was combined with an older University collection to become

266-435: The seeds he brought back to introduce to English gardens were great American trees including magnolias , bald cypress and tulip tree , and garden plants such as phlox and asters. John Tradescant the Younger added his American acquisitions to the family's cabinet of curiosities , known as The Ark. These included the ceremonial cloak of Chief Powhatan , an important Native American relic. South Lambeth Road in Vauxhall

285-431: Was added to significantly by Tradescant's son, John Tradescant the Younger , was later given to the University of Oxford by Elias Ashmole . It was combined with an older University collection to become the Ashmolean Museum , which opened in 1683. A genus of flowering plants ( Tradescantia ) was named in honour of the two men by Carl Linnaeus in 1752. Tradescant Road, off South Lambeth Road in Vauxhall , marks

304-430: Was engaged in 1630 by King Charles I to be keeper of His Majesty's Gardens, Vines, and Silkworms at Queen Henrietta Maria 's minor palace, Oatlands Palace in Surrey. On all his trips he collected seeds and bulbs, from which he assembled a collection of curiosities of natural history and ethnography which he housed in a large house, "The Ark", in Lambeth , London. The Ark was the prototypical " Cabinet of Curiosity ",

323-455: Was one of the boundaries of the Tradescant estate, where the collection was kept and Tradescant Road was laid out after the estate was built on in the 1870s and named after the family. When his father died, he succeeded as head gardener to King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria , making gardens at the Queen's House, Greenwich , designed by Inigo Jones , from 1638 to 1642, when the queen fled

342-425: Was probably born in Suffolk. On 18 June 1607 he married Elizabeth Day of Meopham in Kent, England. She was the daughter of Jeames Day, a vicar. Tradescant began his career as head gardener to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , at Hatfield House , who initiated Tradescant in travelling by sending him to the Low Countries for fruit trees in 1610/11. He was kept on by Robert's son William , to produce gardens at

361-663: Was swindled from him by) Elias Ashmole (1617–1692), whose name it bears as the core of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford where the Tradescant collections remain largely intact. Tradescant died on 22 April 1662, aged 53, in South Lambeth. He was buried beside his father in the churchyard of St. Mary-at-Lambeth which is now established as the Garden Museum . He is the subject of the novel Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory , sequel to Earthly Joys about his father. Tradescant

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