Between 1786 and 1788, Smith made the
grand tour through the Netherlands, France, Italy and Switzerland visiting botanists, picture galleries and
herbaria. He founded the
Linnean Society of London in 1788, becoming its first President, a post he held until his death. He returned to live in Norwich in 1796 bringing with him the entire Linnean Collection. His library and botanical collections acquired European fame and was visited by numerous
entomologists and botanists from all over the Continent. In 1792, he was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1796, he was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society. Smith spent the remaining thirty years of his life writing books and articles on botany. His books included
Flora Britannica and
The English Flora (4 volumes, 1824–1828). He contributed 3,348 botanical articles to ''
Rees's Cyclopædia'' between 1808 and 1819, following the death of Rev.
William Wood, who had started the work. In addition, he contributed 57 biographies of botanists. He contributed seven volumes to the major botanical publication of the eighteenth century,
Flora Graeca, the publications begun by
John Sibthorp. A fruitful collaboration was found through descriptions Smith supplied to publisher and illustrator,
James Sowerby with whom he subsequently developed as passionate interest in mosses and lichens. Depiction of flora in England had previously only found patronage for aesthetic concerns, but an interest in gardening and natural history saw illustrated publications, such as the exotic
A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland and James Sowerby's 36-volume
English Botany, reach new audiences. In 1797, Smith published
The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia, the earliest book on North American insects. It included the illustrations and notes of
John Abbot, with descriptions of new species by Smith based on Abbot's drawings. Smith's friendship with
William Roscoe (after whom he named the genus
Roscoea) saw him contribute 5000 plants, between 1806 and 1817, to supplement the
Roylean Herbarium. This was to become the
Smith Herbarium held by the
Liverpool Botanical Garden. == Personal life and death ==