Mary Anning
Personal Information
Born: 1799
Died: 1847
Country of Birth: Great Britain
Nationality: Great Britain
Ethnicity: White
Education
learned reading & writing at a Congregationalist Sunday School; self-taught geology & anatomy
Professional Life
Field of Study: Paleontology
Institution/Corporation: none
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Dorset County Museum 1846
Awards & Achievements
Awards: approx 1836, awarded civil list pension for her many contributions to the science of geology; 1850, Geological Society of London unveiled a stained glass window in commemoration of her usefulness in furthering the science of geology, first woman to be given a eulogy at a meeting of the Geological Society of London; 2010, the Royal Society listed her as one of 10 women who have most influenced the history of science; 2021, the Royal Mint issued a set of sterling coins named The Mary Anning Collection, early 1840 s Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz named 2 fossil fish species in her honor, since then 5 more species have been named for her; 1991, a cluster of shallow volcanoes in the Northern hemisphere of Venus were named for her; 1999, an asteroid was named for her; 2022, a life-sized statue of her was erected in Lyme Regis on the Jurassic Coast commemorating her fossil hunting in the area
Achievements: discovered numerous fossils she sold to male geologists who were then credited with their discovery
Fossil collector, dealer, & paleontologist
Located fossils in Jurassic marine fossil beds in cliffs along English Channel at Lyme Regis in Blue Lias & Charmouth Mudstone Cliffs
Age 12, discovered 1st ichthyosaur skeleton, 1st two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons & 1st pterosaur skeleton located outside of Germany
Played a key role in discovering coprolites, known as bezoar stones, were fossilized feces
Discovered belemnite fossils contained ink sacs like those of modern cephalopods
Was not eligible for membership in the Geological Society of London because she was female
Males were often credited with her discoveries
1793, lived in a house built on a bridge in Lyme; family once had to evacuate through a 2nd story window to avoid drowning
1 of 10 children born to her parents but only she & and older brother, Joseph, survived to adulthood with most dying before age 2
Age 15/months, while being held by a neighbor talking to 2 other women under a tree, the tree was struck by lightning; the 3 women died but she survived
Helped financially support her family by finding fossils & selling them to tourists outside her family home; eventually opened a shop on ground floor of the home (1826)
1833, while collecting, part of a cliff collapsed killing her dog who accompanied her on her searches & narrowly missing her