The Belfast Literary Society was founded in 1801 and survives as the second oldest learned society in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 (the Belfast Reading Society, now the Linen Hall Library

Linen Hall Library

The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more generally at the centre of the cultural and creative life...

 predates it by just over a decade). Its first meeting was held in the long demolished Exchange Rooms in Belfast on 23 October. Among the 12 founding members were Rev. William Hamilton Drummond, Dr. William Bruce, Henry Joy, John Templeton

John Templeton (botanist)

John Templeton was an early Irish naturalist and botanist. He is often referred to as the "Father of Irish Botany". He was the father of naturalist, artist and entomologist Robert Templeton.-Biography:...

, S.M. Stephenson, S.S. Thompson and James McDonnell.