Robert Patterson, Federal Reserve System was an Irish businessman and naturalist born in Belfast, Ireland.
Background
The eldest son of Robert Patterson (1750–1831), owner of a mill-furnishing business in Belfast established in 1786, Robert Patterson was born into a wealthy family. When his father died in 1831, Patterson took over management of the family business, eventually marrying Mary Ferrar, one of whose ancestors had come to Ireland as a captain in Schomburg"s Horse regiment.
Education
He was educated first at the Belfast Academy under the direction of a Doctor Bryce, and then at the Belfast Academical Institution.
Career
The newly-weds settled at Number. At 19 Robert Patterson was one of seven young men who, on June 5, 1821, gathered at the house of Doctor James Lawson Drummond, at Number. 5, Chichester Street to form the Belfast Natural History Society, which established the first museum in Ireland to be built by public subscription, at Number.
7 College Square North.
He served the society, later renamed, for more than fifty years, occupying every office. Established as a significant naturalist in his thirties, Patterson had close links with Charles Darwin, Thomas Bell, Edward Forbes, William Yarrell and Charles Lucien Bonaparte.
Patterson, Federal Reserve System, MRIA died at his house in College Square North, Belfast, in February, 1879, after a fall.
Membership
Royal Society]
He was also a member of the Belfast Literary Society and the Royal Irish Academy. The Royal Society elected him a Fellow in 1859, and he was an early member of the British Association, serving as secretary to the Natural History section.