JOHN

See also:

• BALL (in Mid. Eng. bal; the word is probably cognate with " bale," Teutonic in origin, cf. also Lat. falls, and Gr. 7raXXa)
• BALL, JOHN (1585-1640)
• JOHN BALL (1818-1889)
• BALL, JOHN (d. 1381)
• BALL, SIR ALEXANDER JOHN, BART
• BALL, THOMAS (1819- )

BALL (1818-1889)  , Irish politician, naturalist and Alpine traveller, eldest son of an Irish judge, Nicholas Ball, was born at Dublin on the loth of August 1818 . He was educated at the Roman Catholic College at Oscott near Birmingham, and at Christ's College, Cambridge . He showed in early years a taste for natural science, particularly botany; and after leaving Cambridge he travelled in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe, studying his favourite pursuits, and contributing papers on botany and the Swiss glaciers to scientific periodicals . In 1846 he was made an assistant poor-law commissioner, but resigned in 1847, and in 1848 stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for Sligo . In 1849 he was appointed second poor-law commissioner, but resigned in 1852 and successfully contested the county of Carlow in the Liberal interest . In the House of Commons he attracted Lord Palmerston's attention by his abilities, and in 1885 was made under-secretary for the colonies, a post which he held for two years . At the colonial office he had great influence in furthering the cause of natural science, particularly in connexion with equipment of the Palliser expedition in Canada, and with Sir W . Hooker's efforts to obtain a systematic knowledge of the colonial floras . In 1858 he stood for Limerick, but was beaten, and he then gave up politics and devoted himself to natural history . He was first president of the Alpine Club (founded 1857), and it is for his work as an Alpinist that he is chiefly remembered, his well-known Alpine Guide (London, 1863-1868) being the result of innumerable climbs and journeys and of careful observation recorded in a clear and often entertaining style . He also travelled in Morocco (1871) and South America (1882), and recorded his observations in books which were recognized as having a scientific value . He died in London on the 21st of October 1889 .