Robert Ball (naturalist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Ball was an Irish
naturalist
.
), County Cork
. The Ball family lived in Youghal
, County Cork. Robert had a brother, Bent, and two sisters Anne, a well-known phytologist, and Mary
, an entomologist. The family was Protestant and "involved in trade."
After a career in the civil service he became Director of the Dublin University Museum in 1844. He was a Member of the Royal Irish Academy
and President of the Geological Society of Ireland
Dublin University conferred on him the degree of LL.D. He became Secretary of the newly founded Queen's University of Ireland
in 1851, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society. Astronomer Royal, is more familiar than his own.
Scientific
, and Valentine Ball
(1843-1895) C.B., BA,MA, LL.D., F.R.S. a geologist and naturalist, Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
Attribution
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
.
Life
He was born at Queenstown (today known as CobhCobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
), County 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...
. The Ball family lived in Youghal
Youghal
Youghal is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Sitting on the estuary of the River Blackwater, in the past it was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout...
, County Cork. Robert had a brother, Bent, and two sisters Anne, a well-known phytologist, and Mary
Mary Ball
Mary Ball was an Irish naturalist and entomologist most noted for her studies of Odonata and for her discovery of the curious phenomenon of stridulation in aquatic bugs....
, an entomologist. The family was Protestant and "involved in trade."
After a career in the civil service he became Director of the Dublin University Museum in 1844. He was a Member of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
and President of the Geological Society of Ireland
Dublin University conferred on him the degree of LL.D. He became Secretary of the newly founded Queen's University of Ireland
Queen's University of Ireland
The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in...
in 1851, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society. Astronomer Royal, is more familiar than his own.
Works
On the museum- (1846) First Report on the Progress of the Dublin University Museum, January 1846. Dublin.
- (1847) Second Report on the Progress of the Dublin University Museum, June 1847. Dublin.
- (1848) The Dublin University Museum, December, 1848. Dublin.
- (1853) Evidence. In Dublin University Commission, Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state, discipline, studies and revenues of the University of Dublin and Trinity College. Dublin. 153-169.
Scientific
- 1841. On a species of LoligoLoligoLoligo is a genus of squids and one of the most representative and widely distributed groups of myopsid squids.The genus was first described by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1798. However, the name had been used earlier than Lamarck and might even have been used by Pliny...
, found on the shore of Dublin Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 1 (19). 362-364. - 1842 Notes of the acetabuliferous Cephalopoda of Ireland, including two species of Rossiae. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2: 192-194.
Family
Robert Ball was the father of the Astronomer Royal Sir Robert Stawell BallRobert Stawell Ball
Sir Robert Stawell Ball was an Irish astronomer. He worked for Lord Rosse from 1865 to 1867. In 1867 he became Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin. In 1874 Ball was appointed Royal Astronomer of Ireland and Andrews Professor of Astronomy in the University...
, and Valentine Ball
Valentine Ball
Valentine Ball was an Irish geologist, and a brother of Sir Robert Ball.Ball joined the Geological Survey of India, becoming an authority not only on geology but also on ornithology and anthropology. His best known work is Jungle-Life in India...
(1843-1895) C.B., BA,MA, LL.D., F.R.S. a geologist and naturalist, Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
Further reading
- Jackson, P. N. W. 2009. Robert Ball (1802–1857): naturalist. Ir. Nat. J. 30: 15 - 18.
External links
Attribution