Abraham Abell

Abraham Abell (April 11, 1789 – 1851) was an Irish antiquarian.

Early career

Abell was born in Cork, Ireland, into a Quaker family of eleven children. His family had long standing in business. He also was successful in business and noted for his charity. He served as treasurer of the Cork Dispensary and Humane Society.

Cultural interests

He had a great interest in archaeology and did a study of the Irish Round Tower. He was responsible for the first collection of Ogham stone inscriptions and his collection is now on public display at University College Cork. He had a major collection of books. He was a member of the Royal Cork Institution and one of the founders in 1835 of the Cuvierian Society. This was the forerunner of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.

At the time of his death, Abell's personal library contained about 4,500 volumes, including books written in Italian, French, Latin, German, Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, and Irish.

References

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