Mary Anning (1799-1847) was an English pioneering palaeontologist and fossil collector who is best known for her discoveries in Jurassic marine fossils.

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Mary was born in Lyme Regis, an area known as the Jurassic Coast where discoveries are still made to this day. She was born into poverty into a large family of 10 children; only Mary and her older brother survived to adulthood. Mary's fascination with fossils came from her father, but this was seen as an obscure activity. At this period in history, young girls and women had little education, only being taught how to read. Mary taught herself geology and anatomy, and sold her discoveries to help pay off the family's debt.

 

At only 12 years of age, Mary discovered the fossil remains of a prehistoric reptile, Ichthyosaur, a lizard fish. This accomplishment was a vital discovery as only recently had the theory of extinction been introduced by Georges Cuvier, the father of palaeontology. In 1823, Mary was the first to discover the complete skeleton of a Plesiosaurus. However, many believed that this discovery was a fake. Cuvier disputed the find at a meeting at the Geological Society of London, at which Mary wasn't invited, and after lengthy debate admitted to his mistake.

 

“The world has used me so unkindly, I fear it has made me suspicious of everyone.”

 

Whilst Mary now has recognition for her accomplishments for finding and identifying fossils, the scientific community failed to recognise her work, and many scientists who bought the fossils Mary uncovered didn't credit her discoveries in papers or credit her about her groundbreaking Ichthyosaur find.