Francis Archer MRCS (1803–1875) was an Irish physician and naturalist. He was born in Belfast on April 23, 1803, the son of a well-known Belfast bookseller. He studied medicine at Edinburgh. He practiced in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, where he was the prison surgeon. He was married to Frances Fletcher. They had six children. As a naturalist, he specialized in

conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

, initiating what became the basis for a large family collection, some of which later became part of the

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

and also the Melvill-Tomlin collection of

Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, branded as simply Amgueddfa Cymru (formerly the National Museums and Galleries of Wales and legally National Museum of Wales), is a Welsh Government sponsored body that comprises seven museums in Wales: * N ...

. Archer was one of the founder members of the

Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society was founded in 1821 to promote the scientific study of animals, plants, fossils, rocks and minerals. The Society was founded by George Crawford Hyndman, James Lawson Drummond, James Grim ...

. Later he became the first President of the Liverpool Natural History Society. He was a member of the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society. He also was a member of the Belfast Phrenological Society. He died on April 5, 1875. His two sons continued the work of their father --- Francis Archer Jr. (1839–92), a solicitor, journalist and naturalist who collected Mollusca which he obtained on trips to Puffin Island and Liverpool, in conjunction with research activities of the Liverpool Biological Society; and Samuel Archer, (1836–1902), an Army surgeon and ship's surgeon on the

SS Great Britain SS ''Great Britain'' is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great We ...

, who collected shells in Singapore and many other parts of the world where he traveled, both with his regiment and in retirement.

References

External links

Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names. AUlster Biography
: : Irish zoologists 1803 births 1875 deaths Irish naturalists 19th-century naturalists Irish surgeons Conchologists Medical doctors from Belfast British malacologists {{zoologist-stub