Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817 - 1911) is the most important British botanist of the nineteenth century. He wrote several scientific papers and monographs - often describing his journeys to different countries. In 1847, Hooker undertook a 3-year-long expedition to the Himalayas, where he became the first European to collect plants in the area. Also, he travelled to the South Pole and Palestine (1860), Morocco (1871), and the United States (1877). Through these expeditions, he quickly built up an impressive reputation at home. In 1855, Hooker was appointed assistant director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and in 1865 he became director, holding the post for twenty years.