British intellectual of independent means, John Hawkins was knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects from natural history to architecture, archaeology and literature. His greatest interest was probably mineralogy and his most important contribution to the field of botany was his participation in the Greek expedition of John Sibthorp; a trip which culminated in the production of the Flora Graeca, perhaps the most impressive and expensive flora ever created.
Born in Trewithen, Cornwall, his father was a merchant in London and his grand father owned many estates and mines in Cornwal. Hawkins was educated at Helston, Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. It was apparently here that he developed an interest in horticulture, geology and archaeology between 1778 and 1782, when he graduated with a bachelor's degree. In 1789 he received his MA and continued to devote his life to the study of art, science and literature. With family homes in Trewithen and Littlehampton he also purchased an estate at Bignor Park, Sussex, in 1806.
It is not known exactly when Hawkins left England for his European tour; he was certainly on the Continent in the summer of 1785 and may have left the previous year. Likewise little is known about how Hawkins and Sibthorp met but they appear to have been together on a ship called the Harty while on their way to Europe and they were certainly together again in Berlin where Hawkins spent three months. He stayed a long time in Freyberg during 1785-1786 and as he travelled through Germany he studied with all variety of renowned academics. Continuing on to Hungary and Vienna and it was here that he received news of Sibthorp's arrival in Istanbul. Hawkins set out at the start of 1787 to meet with his friend and they over wintered at the British Embassy in Istanbul, during which time he bought many items including paintings, coins, minerals and items of clothing. Along with Sibthorp's painter, Austrian Ferdinand Bauer, the pair left for Cyprus in the spring and continued on to explore the Aegean. It was during this period that most of his plant collecting occurred, alongside the fanatical Sibthorp.
Following a visit to Thessalonica and a somewhat traumatic ascent of mount Delphis, Sibthorp returned to England in August 1787, leaving Hawkins to explore the mines of the region. After visiting Smyrna and many islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas, of which Zante made a particular impression on him, he reached Sicily at the end of that year. Travelling through Italy he returned to England over a year later.
Until 1793 Hawkins was based in Chandos Street, London. He was a man of leisure and continued his travels throughout England, exploring geological sites. A second trip to Greece was proposed by Sibthorp, although family problems on his part meant that Hawkins left first and the pair met later on. Again travelling via Freyburg in Saxony and by boat from Venice he spent much of 1794 in Zante before meeting Sibthorp and exploring the Peloponnese peninsula.
In 1798 Hawkins returned to London. His travelling companion, who had been in poor health since the start of the second voyage, returned to England two years prior to this and died soon afterwards. Although particularly interested in minerals, Hawkins was involved in the collection of plants on both journeys, not least because his companion was almost obsessive about his creation of a Greek flora and often led the expedition with only botany in mind. Hawkins, as one of the executors of Sibthorp's will, saw through the creation of that monumental publication and often had to explain his companion's field notes to Sir J.E. Smith, the botanist tasked with identifying all of the material. The publication of the flora was not completed until 1840, just a year before Hawkins death. Paid for by the rents from the Sibthorp estate it was particularly costly due to the number and quality of Bauer's prints (966 hand painted, folio sized illustrations in every set).
Hawkins remained in England for the rest of his life, marrying and purchasing yet more properties. In 1804 he was a founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society and continued to study the sciences and archaeology for the rest of his life.
Sources:
R.J. Cleevely, 2000, "A note on John Hawkins (1761-1841) and the Hawkins archive", Archives of Natural History, 27(2): 261-268
H. W. Lack, 1999, The Flora Graeca story: Sibthorp, Bauer and Hawkins in the Levant
W.T. Stearn, 1967, "Sibthorp, Smith, the 'Flora Graeca' and the 'Florae Graecae Prodromus'", Taxon, 16: 168-178.
