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Just a mildly interesting factoid I picked up while listening to the audio-CD of Caroline Alexander's book about Captain Bligh, Fletcher Christian, and the HMS Bounty:
It seems that Sir Joseph Banks, Lincolnshire landowner, head of the Royal Society for 42 straight years, noted lover of Tahitian women, and a driving force behind both the voyages of Captain Cook and the Bounty expedition, was major buds with King George III.
One of their shared hobbies was experimental agriculture. It was the mad king and Sir Joe who first had the idea of bringing Spanish merino sheep to Britain specifically for their wool. Out of these efforts grew Britain's eventual status as one of the world's great exporters of fine-quality woolen textiles.
Proud American that I am, I give "Farmer George" at least one cheer for his role as a father of today's finer menswear.
PJC in NoVa
It seems that Sir Joseph Banks, Lincolnshire landowner, head of the Royal Society for 42 straight years, noted lover of Tahitian women, and a driving force behind both the voyages of Captain Cook and the Bounty expedition, was major buds with King George III.
One of their shared hobbies was experimental agriculture. It was the mad king and Sir Joe who first had the idea of bringing Spanish merino sheep to Britain specifically for their wool. Out of these efforts grew Britain's eventual status as one of the world's great exporters of fine-quality woolen textiles.
Proud American that I am, I give "Farmer George" at least one cheer for his role as a father of today's finer menswear.
PJC in NoVa
