George Linnaeus Banks


George Linnaeus Banks, husband of author Isabella Banks, was a British journalist, editor, poet, playwright, amateur actor, orator, and Methodist.
George was born in Birmingham, the son of a seedsman familiar with the plant nomenclature of Linnaeus.

Career

After a brief experience in a variety of trades, in his late teens George Banks became a contributor to various newspapers, and subsequently a playwright, being the author of plays, burlesques and lyrics. Between 1848 and 1864 he edited in succession a variety of newspapers, including the Birmingham Mercury and the Daily Express of Dublin.
George Banks' plays included The Slave King, written for the black actor Ira Aldridge, and The Swiss Father; his popular songs included The Minstrel King, Warwickshire Will, and Dandy Jim of Caroline, based on a negro melody; and his poetry included Daisies in the Grass. Some of his more popular lines were frequently used by platform and pulpit orators, notably his lyrical What I Live For:

Personal life

George Banks died of cancer and pneumonia in Dalston, Hackney, close to London, and is buried nearby at Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, with his wife, the author Isabella Banks.