Edmund Getty MRIA (1799 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

– 1857 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

antiquarian and naturalist. Getty was educated at the

Royal 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 Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

. He became

Ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

Master of the Belfast Ballast Board and, later, Secretary of the Belfast Harbour Board. He was responsible for the

reclamation Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back". It may refer to: * Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds * Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...

of the slob-lands on the County Down and building of a "Crystal Palace" park. He wrote '' Chinese Seals in Ireland'', ''The History of the Harbour Board'', ''Last King of Ulster'' and articles on

Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory (officially known by its Irish name ''Toraigh''),Toraigh/Tory Island

round towers. He was a founder member of the

Belfast Natural History 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 ...

and one of the founders of

Belfast Botanic Gardens Botanic Gardens is a public garden in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Occupying of south Belfast, the gardens are popular with office workers, students and tourists. They are located on Stranmillis Road in Queen's Quarter, with Queen's Univers ...

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- * Irish naturalists 1799 births 1857 deaths Scientists from Belfast {{UK-biologist-stub