John Fraser, FLS, F.R.H.S.,[1] (14 October 1750 – 26 April 1811) was a Scottish botanist who collected plant specimens around the world, from North America and the West Indies to Russia and points between, with his primary career activity from 1780 to 1810.

[9] In 1770, five years before the American War of Independence and coincident with Captain James Cook's discovery of the eastern Australian coast, Fraser arrived in London as a young man to make his way in the city, at first following the trade of a hosier (a draper working with linen).

[6] Upon returning to England, he sailed again in 1783 to explore the New World with his eldest son John Jr.[5] Fraser's early expeditions were financed by Forsyth, William Aiton of Kew Gardens, and James Edward Smith of the Linnean Society.

[3] As the 18th century came to a close, botanists who hunted plants afar were adventurers and explorers, John Fraser among them, fielding shipwrecks, sieges, slavery, pirates, escaped convicts and hostile natives.

Returning to England in 1785 with the expectation of recompense for his labour and risk, he was astonished to learn that all the valuable plants he had forwarded were dead, and the survivors, which were common, could not be disposed of.

[5] Vexed, Fraser subsequently entered into a lawsuit over the matter, a suit long and very expensive to both parties,[13] but he sailed again for South Carolina in the autumn nonetheless.

"[6] John's brother James was actively involved with the American side of Fraser's plant export-import business, and from at least 1791 they jointly leased some land in Charleston until May 1800.

[9] The brothers had difficulties with their land deals though, and in 1798 they fell behind in their payment obligations to the extent that their creditors instituted litigation to collect past due sums.

[9] Despite their problems with lawsuits, leases, mortgages, and land too marshy to be suited to their enterprise, in 1810 large numbers of rhododendrons, magnolias, and other native plants were still being shipped from the Fraser brothers' Charleston nursery by their agents there.

[9] In 1795 Fraser made a first visit to Saint Petersburg where he sold a choice collection of plants to the Empress Catherine;[5] to his delight she requested he set his own price.

[13] Based on his trust in the Imperial commission[9] and in furtherance of carrying out the duties it imposed upon him,[13] Fraser and his eldest son John started out once more in 1799, bound for America and the West Indies.

[2] They visited with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello and made an extended journey through Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia, returning to Charleston in December 1800.

[9] While collecting specimens in Cuba, "a time when the sea [was] swarming with pirates",[16] Fraser met the explorers Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland on their circuitous journey from the Amazon to Cartagena.

[5] Fraser petitioned his cause for two years, finally resorting to seeking assistance from the British ambassadorial corps and was ultimately paid 6,000 rubles by royal decree.

[9] The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, an enthusiastic amateur botanist, supported his efforts, giving him a diamond ring and commissioning him for specimens for the Imperial Gardens of Gatchina and Pavlovsk Palace.

[6] His final voyage before returning to England was from America to Cuba in 1810 for a last visit to a country that welcomed him despite the nationalistic differences of the day, and from which he had a richly rewarding collecting history.