Robert Patterson, FRS (1802–1872) was an Irish businessman and naturalist born in Belfast, Ireland.

Biography

The eldest son of Robert Patterson (1750–1831), 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 under the direction of a Dr. Bryce, and then at the

Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

. Here he won a prize for an essay on the natural history of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

. When his father died in 1831, Patterson took over management of the family business, eventually marrying Mary Ferrar, one of whose ancestors had come to Ireland as a captain in Schomburg's Horse regiment. The newly-weds settled at No. 3 College Square North, Belfast, where most of his 11 children were born. At 19 Robert Patterson was one of seven young men who, on 5 June 1821, gathered at the house of Dr.

James Lawson Drummond James Lawson Drummond (1783 – 1853) was an Irish physician, naturalist and botanist. Drummond was born in Larne, Co. Antrim and educated at the Belfast Academy. He received a surgical training at the Belfast Academical Institution and w ...

, at No. 5, Chichester Street to form the Belfast Natural History Society, which established the first museum in Ireland to be built by public subscription, at No. 7 College Square North. He served the society, later renamed, for more than fifty years, occupying every office. He was also a member of the

Belfast Literary Society The Belfast Literary Society was founded in 1801 and survives as the second oldest learned society in Belfast (the Belfast Reading Society, now the Linen Hall Library, predates it by just over a decade). Its first meeting was held in the long dem ...

and the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

. The Royal Society elected him a Fellow in 1859, and he was an early member of the British Association, serving as secretary to the Natural History section. Established as a significant naturalist in his thirties, Patterson had close links with Charles Darwin, Thomas Bell,

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainlan ...

, William Yarrell and

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

. Patterson, FRS, MRIA died at his house in College Square North, Belfast, in February, 1872, after a fall. He is not to be confused with his second son, Robert Lloyd Patterson (1836-1906), or with his grandson Robert Patterson (1863-1931) who were also naturalists.

Books

*''Insects Mentioned in

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Plays'' (1842) * ''A Glossary of Words in Use in the Counties of Antrim and

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

'' – a dialect study
''Zoology for Schools''
(1846–48; later editions). * Ed.Volume 4 of William Thompson'sbr>''Natural History of Ireland''
(1856). Patterson also prepared, for the Department of Science and Art, a series of large coloured diagrams, illustrated by Joseph Wolf. These were widely used in schools in Britain, Ireland and the United States.

References

*Nash, R. and Ross, H.C.G. ''The development of natural history in early 19th century Ireland in From Linnaeus to Darwin: commentaries on the history of biology and geology'' Society for the bibliography of Natural History 13:27- *Foster, J. W. and Chesney, H. C. G (eds.), 1977. ''Nature in Ireland: A Scientific and Cultural History''. Lilliput Press. .

Gallery

Image:PattersonP2070034.jpg, Patterson Zoological Chart Image:Patterson 2P2070033.jpg, Patterson Zoological Chart

External links

BHL
''Introduction to zoology : for the use of schools / by Robert Patterson; with upwards of 330 illustrations and a glossary of scientific terms'' London Simms and M'Intyre,1848.
BHL
''Letters on the natural history of the insects mentioned in Shakespeare's plays : with incidental notices of the entomology of London'' W. S. Orr & Co.,1838. {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Robert 1802 births 1872 deaths Businesspeople from Belfast Irish entomologists Irish naturalists Irish zoologists Irish writers People educated at the Belfast Royal Academy Fellows of the Royal Society 19th-century Irish businesspeople