The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society was founded in 1821 to promote the scientific study of
animalAnimals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, plants, fossils,
rocksIn geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
and minerals.
The Society was founded by
George Crawford HyndmanGeorge Crawford Hyndman was an Irish auctioneer and amateur biologistHyndman from Belfast was mainly interested in marine zoology and marine botany...
,
James Lawson DrummondJames Lawson Drummond was an Irish physician, naturalist and botanist.Drummond was educated at the Belfast Academy. He received a surgical training at the Belfast Academical Institution and was an apprentice surgeon in the Royal Navy...
,
James GrimshawJames Grimshaw was an Irish naturalist in the early 19th century.Born in County Antrim, Grimshaw worked in his family's linen business. He married Mary Templeton, a daughter of the Irish botanist John Templeton....
,
James McAdamJames MacAdam was an Irish naturalist and geologist.Mcadam was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and then at Trinity College, Dublin.He had a private geological museum, which included specimens collected during excavations made during the construction of the Irish railways...
,
Robert PattersonRobert Patterson, FRS was an Irish businessman and naturalist born in Belfast, Ireland.-Biography:The eldest son of Robert Patterson , owner of a mill-furnishing business in Belfast established in 1786, Robert Patterson was born into a wealthy family. He was educated first at the Belfast Academy...
,
Robert SimmsRobert Simms was an Irish radical.He was the owner of a papermill in Ballyclare and ,with his brother William Simms, the proprietor of the Northern Star newspaper...
,
Francis ArcherFrancis Archer 1803 – 1875) was an Irish physician and naturalistHe was one of the founder members of the Belfast Natural History Society and later President of the Liverpool Natural History Society....
, the
Thomas Dix HincksThomas Dix Hincks was an Irish orientalist and naturalist.Hincks was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained a Presbysterian minister and worked at the Old Presbyterian Church on Princes Street in Cork. After teaching in the Cork Institution, which he founded, he taught in Fermoy,...
,
Edward HincksThe Reverend Edward Hincks was an Irish clergyman, best remembered as an Assyriologist and one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform....
and
Edmund GettyEdmund Getty was an Irish antiquarian and naturalist.Getty was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He became Ballast Master of the Belfast Ballast Board and, later, Secretary of the Belfast Harbour Board. He was responsible for the reclamation of the slob-lands on the County Down...
. Five years later in 1826
Alexander Henry HalidayAlexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday sometimes Halliday , was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect orders and on many aspects of entomology.Haliday...
and
William ThompsonWilliam Thompson was an Irish naturalist celebrated for his founding studies of the natural history of Ireland, especially in ornithology and marine biology. Thompson published numerous notes on the distribution, breeding, eggs, habitat, song, plumage, behaviour, nesting and food of birds...
both joined. In 1823, the Society’s collection and the small collection begun in 1788 in the rooms of the
Belfast Reading SocietyThe Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more generally at the centre of the cultural and creative life...
and that of the
Belfast Literary SocietyThe Belfast Literary Society was founded in 1801 and survives as the second oldest learned society in Belfast . Its first meeting was held in the long demolished Exchange Rooms in Belfast on 23 October. Among the 12 founding members were , , , John Templeton, S.M. Stephenson, S.S...
were moved to
Belfast Academical InstitutionThe Royal Belfast Academical Institution, is a Grammar School in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Locally referred to as Inst, the school educates boys from ages 11–18...
where
James BryceJames Bryce was an Irish naturalist and geologist.In 1826 Bryce was appointed Master of the Mathematical and Commercial Department of Belfast Academical Institution.He was Secretary of the Belfast Natural History Society from its foundation.-Works:Partial List*1831 Tables of simple minerals,...
was centralising Belfast’s rapidly expanding natural history holdings.A new building opened at No 7 College Square North in 1831.
How big the first collections were is not known but the 1831 figure of 300 insects given when the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society Museum opened to non-members must refer to specimens on display. The research material would have been very much more numerous and expanded rapidly during the next decade. Specimens from
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the West Indies, Lapland,
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
,
SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
,
New HollandNew Holland is a historic name for the island continent of Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman as Nova Hollandia, naming it after the Dutch province of Holland, and remained in use for 180 years....
, Java,
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Ceylon,
MauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
,
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
,
RecifeRecife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and
West AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
were acquired by gift. The Society maintained an excellent library and received many journals from corresponding members of English and continental natural history societies. Notable contributors were
John Obadiah WestwoodJohn Obadiah Westwood was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents.Born in Sheffield, he studied to be a lawyer but abandoned that for his scientific interests....
,
Francis WalkerFrancis Walker was an English entomologist. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms....
,
Carl August Dohrn Carl August Dohrn was a German entomologist.-Biography:Born at Stettin Carl August was the son of Heinrich Dohrn, who was a wine and spice merchant, and had made the family fortune by trading in sugar...
),
Maximilian Spinola-Background:Spinola was born in Pézenas, Hérault, France. The family of Spinola was of very long standing and had great wealth and power in Genoa. Maximilian Spinola was a descendant of the famous Spanish General Ambrogio Spinola, marqués de los Balbases and much of his wealth derived from land...
and
John GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
and
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. Many of the collections and some of the books were transferred to the
Trinity College MuseumTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, Dublin in 1843 after the society became the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society in 1842 when lectures in chemistry, physics, engineering and were allowed. Specimens remaining in
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
are kept in the
Ulster MuseumThe Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
where they bear the tag BNHPS collection.The formerly central role of natural history and archaeology diminished from this year on and in 1863 the
Belfast Naturalists' Field ClubThe Belfast Naturalists' Field Club is a club of naturalists based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1863, the club was an important part of the education system for Victorian naturalists and worked largely through first-hand field studies...
was founded. The fragmentary BNHS minute books (pre 1842) and few letters are in the
Public Record Office of Northern IrelandThe Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure ....
, in
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. The Society still exists today retaining ownership of the Old Museum Building, publishing occasional books, and running a lecture series out of the Linen Hall Library.
The museum
MUSEI BELFASTIANI
Fundamenta Prima PraesentibusSocietatis Historiae Naturalis apud BelfastamSociis, aliisque multis scientiae faventibusqui ad hoc opus pecuniam contulerant:Locavit Vir Honoratissimus
Georgius Augustus ChichesterGeorge Augustus Chichester, 2nd Marquess of Donegall, KP, PC , styled Viscount Chichester until 1799, was an Irish nobleman and politician....
Marchio de DonegallIV. Non Maias MDCCCXXX.Rege Augustissimo Georgio IV.Annum Regni XI.Agente.Thomas J Duff, J. Jackson, Architectis; J. Johnston, Redemptore.
The museum was the first erected in Ireland by public subscription.From its inception in 1831 and for 47 years the Museum employed a
curatorA curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
taxidermist named William Darragh (1813 - 1892). In the first report of the society he wrote an account entitled "Directions for preserving subjects in natural history" This covered Birds, Tortoises etc., Lizards and Serpents, Fish, Shells, Corals, Seafans etc., Crabs, Lobsters etc.., Asterias or Starfish, Insects, Botanical specimens, Seeds, Minerals and Fossil. He notes , correctly anticipating foreign specimens "As there is now no vexatious delay or trouble experienced by Custom-house regulations, specimens of natural history being admitted free of duty, it is recommended that all packages may be entered in the ship’s papers, and if a list of all the contents of each package could, with convenience, be attached inside the lid of the box or cover, the risk of injury to the specimens, by examination at the Custom-house, would in great measure be avoided". Also "Should it even happen that the specimens be already possessed by the Society, still duplicates are desirable, since such as are not possessed by the Museum can be readily exchanged for others that may be wanted".
Although the focus of the collections was primarily on zoology, botany and geology substantial
archaeologicalArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
,
ethnographicEthnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
and
antiquarianAn antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
acquisitions were made and in 1835 the Society gained an Egyptian mummy,
TakabutiTakabuti was a married woman who reached an age of between twenty and thirty years. She lived in the Egyptian city of Thebes at the end of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. Her mummified body and mummy case are in the Ulster Museum Belfast. The coffin was opened and the mummy unrolled on 27...
.
Whilst the members of the Society were
middle classIn sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
the museum was open to the working classes, at a small charge on Easter Mondays. Recorded figures for Easter Mondays 1845-1853 are:
1845-1,200 persons: 1846-1,700 persons: 1847-2000 persons;1848 -2,600 persons; -1849- 3,500 persons; 1850- 4,400 persons :1851 - 4,350 persons ; 1852- 4,200 persons ;1853 – 5,950 persons
The library
With the tumultuous years of 1789-1815, European culture was transformed by revolution, war and disruption. By ending many of the social and cultural props of the previous century, the stage was set for dramatic economic, political and social change of the
Late EnlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
of which the development of learned societies was a part. One of the most important developments that the Enlightenment era brought to the discipline of science was its popularization. An increasingly literate population seeking knowledge and education in both the arts and the sciences drove the expansion of print culture and the dissemination of scientific learning. Popularization was generally part of an overarching Enlightenment ideal that endeavoured “to make information available to the greatest number of people.” As public interest in natural philosophy grew during the 18th century, public lecture courses and the publication of popular texts opened up new roads to money and fame for amateurs and scientists who remained on the periphery of universities and academies. Books owned by the Belfast Natural History Society reflect such changes, although some of the more expensive works were the gift of
Thomas FortescueThomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont , was an Irish Whig politician.-Background and education:Fortescue was the son of Chichester Fortescue, of Dromisken, County Louth, by Martha Angel, daughter of Samuel Meade Hobson, a barrister, of Muchridge House, County Cork. Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue,...
and
Arthur HillArthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire KP was an Irish peer, styled Earl of Hillsborough until 1845....
.
They included:Georges Cuvier, 1829
Regne Animalium, in English, The Animal Kingdom, published by Chez Deterville at Paris;1832
Class Insecta Whitaker, London;Justin Pierre Marie Macquart, 1834-1835.
Histoire naturelle des insectes. Dipteres Paris : Roret.;Pierre André Latreille
Genera crustaceorum et insectorum, secundum ordinem naturalem ut familias disposita (4 vols., 1806 1807 1807 1809);Peter Simon Pallas
Zoographia Rosso-asiatica:Friedrich Wilhelm Martini
Neues systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet; Emanuel Mendez da Costa
A Natural History of Fossils (1757),
Elements of Conchology, or An Introduction to the Knowledge of Shells (1776),
British Conchology (1778);
Gilbert WhiteGilbert White FRS was a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist.-Life:White was born in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire. He was educated at the Holy Ghost School and by a private tutor in Basingstoke before going to Oriel College, Oxford...
The Natural History and Antiquities of SelborneThe Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, or just The Natural History of Selborne is a book by pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist Gilbert White first published in 1789...
(1789); Thomas Pennant
History of Quadrupeds; Johannes Allart,
Afbeeldingen der fraaiste, meest uitheemsche boomen en heesters. Amsterdam, Johannes Allart, 1802 [-1808];William Smith
Strata by Organized Fossils (1815);Louis Agassiz
Recherches sur les poissons fossiles (1833-1843);Philipp Franz von Siebold
Fauna Japonica: Birds or Aves, 1844-1850 12 vol.; Fish or Pisces1842-1850 16 vol.;Crustaceans or Crustacea1833-1850 8 vol.;Mammals or Mammalia 1842-1844 4 vol.;Pierre Barrère
Ornithologiae Specimen Novum, sive Series Avium in Ruscinone, Pyrenaeis Montibus, atque in Galliâ Aequinoctiali Observatarum, in Classes, genera & species, novâ methodo, digesta (1745);Julius Theodor Christian Ratzeburg
Die Waldverderber und ihre Feinde, Berlin, 1841
Notable Members
- John Templeton
John Templeton was an early Irish naturalist and botanist. He is often referred to as the "Father of Irish Botany". He was the father of naturalist, artist and entomologist Robert Templeton.-Biography:...
- Robert Templeton
Robert Templeton was a Naturalist, artist, and entomologist, and was born at Cranmore House, Belfast, Ireland.-Life and work:...
- Charles Wyville Thomson
Sir Charles Wyville Thomson was a Scottish zoologist and chief scientist on the Challenger expedition.-Career:...
- Ralph Tate
Ralph Tate was a British-born botanist and geologist, who was later active in Australia.-Early life:Tate was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, the son of Thomas Turner Tate , a teacher of mathematics and science, and his wife Frances...
- James Bryce
James Bryce was an Irish naturalist and geologist.In 1826 Bryce was appointed Master of the Mathematical and Commercial Department of Belfast Academical Institution.He was Secretary of the Belfast Natural History Society from its foundation.-Works:Partial List*1831 Tables of simple minerals,...
- Thomas Andrews
Thomas Andrews FRS was an Irish chemist and physicist who did important work on phase transitions between gases and liquids.-Life:Andrews was born in Belfast, Ireland where his father was a linen merchant...
- Thomas Workman
Thomas Workman was an Irish entomologist and arachnologist who travelled widely collecting butterflies and studying spiders. He is best known for his book Malaysian Spiders, published in 1896, in which he described several new species....
- John Grainger
John Grainger was an Irish cleric and antiquarian.Grainger was educated at Belfast Academy and Trinity College, Dublin. After gaining a Doctorate of Divinity he became Rector of Broughshane, County Antrim...
- James Emerson Tennent
Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet FRS , born James Emerson, was an Irish politician and traveller. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 June 1862....
See also
- William Bullock A companion to Mr. Bullock's London Museum and Pantherion 1812 http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/92074 gives a notion of an early 19th century museum, though not a scientific one.
- Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne
- Leskean Cabinet
The Leskean Cabinet is an 18th century mineral and natural history collection conserved in the Natural History Museum in Dublin.-Purchase:Early in 1792 a committee of the Royal Dublin Society was appointed to bid for the purchase of the cabinet of mineralogy...
- Dublin University Zoological Association
The Dublin University Zoological Association was founded in 1853 to promote zoological studies in Ireland. Dublin University is now Trinity College, Dublin.It commenced proceedings in the Natural History Review in 1854.-Notable members:*Robert Ball...
- Cuvierian Society of Cork
External Links
- BHL Digitised Report of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society
- Library Ireland Dublin Penny Journal
The Dublin Penny Journal was a weekly newspaper, and later series of published volumes, originating from Dublin, Ireland, between 1832 and 1836. Published each Saturday, by J. S...
account