John Grainger was born in Belfast and was educated at the Belfast Academy and Trinity College, Dublin. After a period in his father's shipping business in Belfast, he was ordained in the Church of Ireland in 1863 and as a curate he worked in Belfast and in the Dublin area for six years. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He gained a Doctorate of Divinity and was an active member of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, of which he was President for some years. He was Rector of Broughshane, County Antrim, and Rural Dean of Antrim and wrote many articles on Irish geology and archaeology. He presented his very fine geological, numismatical and archaeological collections to the city of Belfast, and they are now housed in the Ulster Museum.

Born:	1830
Died:	1891