John Grainger facts for kids

Canon John Grainger

John Grainger (born in Belfast, Ireland in 1830 – died in 1891) was an Irish church leader and a person who studied old things (an antiquarian).

He went to school at Belfast Academy and then studied at Trinity College, Dublin. After earning a special degree called a Doctorate of Divinity, he became a Rector (a type of church leader) in Broughshane, County Antrim.

His Amazing Collections

John Grainger loved to collect many different things. He filled his house with all sorts of items! Sometimes, these items didn't even have labels. His collection included:

• Stuffed birds
• Shells
• Insects
• Coins
• Minerals
• A dolmen (an ancient stone structure)
• Weapons from New Zealand
• Finds from archaeological digs (when people dig up old things)

What He Wrote

John Grainger also wrote papers about his discoveries and studies. Here are some of them:

• 1853. A list of shells found in old soil in a Belfast area from the Mesolithic period. This was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.
• Results of digging in High Street, Belfast. This was published in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology.
• 1874. About the old fossils found in Ireland's post-tertiary deposits. This was shared at a meeting of the British Association.

Groups He Joined

John Grainger was a member of several important groups that focused on history and nature:

• The Royal Irish Academy
• The Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society
• The Belfast Naturalists' Field Club