Anderson, William (1750 - 1778)

Summary

William Anderson qualified in medicine at the University of Edinburgh before joining the Royal Navy in 1768. In 1772 he was appointed Assistant Surgeon in H.M.S. Resolution for James Cook's second voyage of discovery in the Pacific Ocean. While not trained as a naturalist, Anderson Cook was impressed by his efforts in this field and was pleased to have him in Resolution for his third voyage, this time as surgeon and naturalist. It was on this voyage that, during a brief visit to Van Diemen's Land, Anderson collected plant specimens with Midshipman David Nelson from H.M.S. Discovery. The journals kept by Anderson during this voyage included extensive observations on the flora, fauna, anthropology of the places visited. These notes used by Cook in writing his account of the voyage. Anderson died at sea in August 1778. The genus Andersonia (Epacridaceae), endemic to Western Australia, was named in his honour.

Details

Chronology

1762 - 1768

Education - Studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh

1768

Life event - Qualified as surgeon's mate, Royal Navy

1768 - 1771?

Career event - Served in H.M.S. Barfleur

1 November 1770

Career event - Promoted to Surgeon, Royal Navy

July 1772 - July 1775

Career position - Assistant Surgeon in H.M.S. Resolution under the command of James Cook

July 1776 - August 1778

Career position - Surgeon and naturalist, H.M.S. Resolution under the command of James Cook

Related entries

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

• Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

The National Archives, UK

• Captains' logs, including: EXPLORATIONS: RESOLUTION (2) W. Anderson (1776 June 7-1777 Sept 2). EXPLORATIONS: RESOLUTION (1) W. Paul (1776 July 13-1778 Aug 8), 1776 - 1778, ADM 51/4560; The National Archives, UK. Details
• Will of William Anderson, Surgeon of His Majesty's Sloop Resolution, 14 November 1780, PROB 11/1070/312; The National Archives, UK. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

• James Cook - Records, 1768 - 1779, 910.4 COO; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published resources

Books

• Cook, James; edited by Beaglehole, J. C., The Journals of Captain James Cook on his voyages of discovery, 4 vols (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1968). Details

Journal Articles

• Beasley, A. W., 'Promise Cut Short: the Career of William Anderson', Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, 42 (2012), 75-80. https://doi.org/10.4997/JRCPE.2012.118. Details
• Britten, James, 'William Anderson (d.1778) and the plants of Cook's third voyage', Journal of botany 54:345-52, 54 (1916), 345-52. Details
• Edwards, Phyllis I., 'Sir Joseph Banks and the botany of Captain Cook's three voyages of exploration', Pacific studies journal, 2 (1) (1978), 20-43, https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol2/iss1/4. Details
• Iredale, T., 'William Anderson, Ornithologist.', Emu, 38 (1938), 60-62. Details
• Keevil, J. J., 'William Anderson, 1748 - 1778, master surgeon, Royal Navy', Annals of medical history, ns, 5 (6) (1933), 511 - 524. Details
• Snell, W. E., 'Captain Cook's surgeons', Medical History, 7 (1963), 43 - 55. Details
• Stearn, William T., 'The botanical results of Captain Cook's three voyages and their later influence', Pacific studies journal, 1 (2) (1978), 147-62. https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol1/iss2/7. Details

Resource Sections

• Watt, J, 'Anderson, William (c.1748 - 1778)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 23 September 2004. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/502. Details

See also

• George, Alex S., Australian botanist's companion (Kardinya, W.A.: Four Gables Press, 2009), 671 pp. Details
• Maiden, J. H., 'Records of Australian botanists:- (a) general; (b) New South Wales', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 42 (1908), 60-132. Details
• Maiden, J. H., 'Records of Tasmanian Botanists', Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 1909 (1909), 9-29. Details
• Nelson, E. Charles, 'Australian plants cultivated in England before 1788', Telopea, 2 (4) (1983), 347-53, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/264397#page/5/mode/1up. Details
• Pearn, John Hemsley, A doctor in the garden: nomen medici in botanicis: Australian flora and the world of medicine (Herston, Qld: Amphion Press, 2001), 497 pp. Details
• Pybus, Cassandra, A very secret trade: the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2024), 318 pp. https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Cassandra-Pybus-Very-Secret-Trade-9781761066344. Pages 79, 80. Details