Who was Mary Anning?
Mary Anning was a pioneering palaeontologist from Lyme Regis. She made important discoveries and contributed to early palaeontology and geology, but she never received official recognition for her work simply because she was a woman and because of her class. She is now an important historical figure to a lot of people, myself included. I have been interested in Palaeontology since I was very little, it is what first got me interested in history and I still love it today. On the anniversary of her death, I thought I would write about who Mary Anning was.
Born in 1799
in Lyme Regis, Mary Anning had quite the dramatic start in life, it is said
that aged one she was struck by lightning. The three women who were caring for her at the time died from the lightning strike, but Mary somehow survived. Her parents Richard and Molly Anning, had two surviving
children, Mary, and her older brother Joseph. Mary had little formal education, but
she could read and write.
Richard was
a cabinetmaker and he also collected fossils to try and make additional money for the
family. Mary and her brother often helped their father search for, clean and
sell the fossils. At this time no one really knew what these strange, shaped
rocks were, people called them curiosities and they were very popular with the rich tourists who visited
Lyme Regis.
When Mary
was about 11, her father died. Mary now had the responsibility of going out and
searching the harsh, and sometimes dangerous coastline for fossils to sell. In
1811, Joseph found the fossilised skull of a strange monstrous beast (we now
know it as an Ichthyosaurus, a marine reptile that lived 201-194 million years
ago.) A year later the young Mary Anning
located the rest of its 5.2-metre-long skeleton. They sold the Ichthyosaur, and its
skull can still be seen in London’s Natural History Museum today.
In 1823, Mary discovered the first complete fossilised remains of a plesiosaur. George Cuvier deemed the skeleton fake; he later admitted his mistake, but Mary was given no official recognition for her momentous find. When scholars came to visit her, she would share her knowledge of the area and the fossils she found and although she had their respect, they often didn’t give her credit for the wisdom she shared with them. Woman were not allowed to attend the meetings of the Geological Society or become members. While rich gentlemen presented her ideas as their own, Mary lived in near poverty, and she understandably became bitter. In 1828 Mary found the first remains of a Dimorphodon, a type of Pterosaur that had the wing span of about 4 feet. She also studied coprolites and gastropod ink.
Mary Anning's sketch of her first plesiosaur
Mary’s sketch of her dog Tray © Natural History Museum, London.
Mary Anning never married. It is said that she was a stern and blunt woman, but kind to children when they visited her shop. She died on 9th March 1847, aged 47, from breast cancer. I don’t think this proud, independent woman would want us to pity her, but her story should be told, and she should be acknowledged for her work in the field of early palaeontology and geology. A statue of Mary Anning and her dog Tray, by sculptor Denise Dutton, will soon be erected in Lyme Regis. The scheduled unveiling is on the 223rd anniversary of Anning’s birth in May 2022. You can find out more about the statue here.
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