Alexander Carte facts for kids

Alexander Carte was an important Irish scientist who studied animals (a zoologist) and ancient life forms like fossils (a palaeontologist). He was born on August 11, 1805, and passed away on September 25, 1881.

He is best known for being the very first director of the Natural History Museum in Dublin. He helped organize and grow the museum's amazing collections.

Early Life and Education

Alexander Carte was born in Newcastle West, County Limerick, on August 11, 1805. He was the only son of Edward and Margaret Carte. His father worked as an agent for the Devon estates in County Limerick.

Alexander started his schooling at Mr. O'Brien's Academy in Limerick. Later, in 1823, he began studying at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He worked hard and earned several degrees, including a medical degree (MD) in 1860.

Even though he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Alexander Carte never worked as a general doctor. Around 1829, he married Ellen Dickson, but they did not have any children.

Leading the Museum

Alexander Carte had a long and successful career working with museum collections.

Starting as a Curator

In 1846, he became the curator of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Museum. A curator is someone who manages and takes care of a museum's collections. He made many improvements to the museum's displays and items.

Director of the Royal Dublin Society Museum

In 1851, Carte became the director of the Royal Dublin Society Museum. He worked to completely reorganize the museum's collections. He carefully cataloged, named, and grouped all the exhibits. This made it much easier for visitors to understand and learn from the displays.

During this time, he also asked many important people to donate new items to the museum. Some of these donors included Sir Richard Griffith and Sir William Wilde. Between 1851 and 1861, the museum received many new items, including over 2,500 bird skins!

A New Museum Building

As the museum's collections grew, they needed more space. Carte oversaw the building of a brand-new museum, which opened in 1857. This new building was specially designed to hold the growing collections.

First Director of the Natural History Museum

In 1878, the Royal Dublin Society Museum became part of the new Museum of Science and Art Dublin. Alexander Carte was then named the first director of the Natural History Museum.

His work in organizing the museum, by grouping animals based on their scientific families, can still be seen in the museum today. He also helped the museum buy a large collection of sea creatures and over 500 beautiful glass models of marine animals. These models were made by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, who were famous for their incredibly detailed glass art.

Other Scientific Work

Besides his museum work, Alexander Carte was involved in many scientific groups. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Linnean Society.

He was very interested in paleontology and the cave systems in Ireland. He wrote articles about different animals and even wondered if polar bears might have lived in Ireland long ago. He also helped name a new type of ancient sea reptile called a plesiosaur, specifically Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni.

A fossil of a giant dormouse from Malta was named Myoxus cartei adams in his honor. This shows how much his work was respected by other scientists.

Alexander Carte passed away on September 25, 1881. He was buried in the family vault at Mount Jerome Cemetery. After him, Alexander Goodman More took over as director of the museum.