The Cuvierian Society of Cork was founded as a committee of the Royal Cork Institution

Royal Cork Institution

Royal Cork Institution was an Irish cultural institution in the city of Cork from 1803-1885. It consisted of a library of scientific works, a museum with old Irish manuscripts and stones with ogham inscriptions, and lecture and reading rooms. A lack of funds resulted in its closure in...

 in October 1835. The meetings were held on the first Wednesday of the Autumn and Winter months in the Library of the Royal Cork Institution. The Society was named after the noted French naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

 and zoologist, Georges Cuvier

Georges Cuvier

Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...

. Its early years concentrated on the natural sciences but by mid century had evolved to be mainly archaeological

Archaeology

Archaeology, 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...

.

The society published in 1845 the "Contributions towards a fauna and Flora of the County of Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

" of which the authors were J.R Harvey, J.D. Humphreys and T. Power. This was prepared for the meeting of the British Association held in Cork in 1843. The book contains a list of the officers of the Society for 1845. An occasional meeting is reported in the Natural History Review

Natural History Review

The Natural History Review was a short-lived, quarterly journal devoted to natural history. It was published in Dublin and London between 1854 and 1865....

(1 229, 2 6).

Notable members

Among the members were:

• Abraham Abell
  Abraham Abell
  -Early career:Abell was born in Cork, Ireland, into a Quaker family of eleven children. His family had long standing in business. He also was successful in business and noted for his charity. He served as treasurer of the Cork Dispensary and Humane Society....
  
  
• Richard Caulfield
  Richard Caulfield
  Richard Caulfield was secretary, librarian and custodian of the Royal Cork Institution and librarian for Queen's College, Cork.Caulfield was born in Cork on 23 April 1823, a grandson of Henry Gosnell, physician at the Lying-In Hospital and first resident surgeon at the Cork North Infirmary...
  
   (1823-1887)
• Robert Day (1836-1914)
• Thomas Crofton Croker
  Thomas Crofton Croker
  Thomas Crofton Croker was an Irish antiquary, born at Cork. For some years, he held a position in the Admiralty, where his distant relative, John Wilson Croker, was his superior....
  
   (1798-1854)
• Thomas P Lane
• John Lindsay
• Matthew Horgan
• Richard Sainthill
• John Willes
• John Windele (1801-1865)

In the years of its existence its membership contained many professional people, academics, and antiquarians.