Rebel Girls: Mary Anning

Mary Anning

Mary Anning was born on the 21st of May 1799 and died on the 9th March 1847 she was an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist who became known around the world for important finds she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel.

The important findings of her fossils changed what people thought about the history of the world. 

She lived in the English seaside town of Lyme Regis in Dorset. Her family were very poor, which meant she couldn't go to school. Instead, she mainly taught herself to read and write.

Mary would spend her time searching the coast looking for what she called ‘curiosities’. Later in her life, she realised they were actually fossils.

At the young age of 12 she made her first big discovery she saw a skull of a creature poking out from the cliff and it turnt out to be an ancient reptile called an ichthyosaur (which means ‘fish lizard’).

Nobody had ever seen anything like Mary’s finds before. However, because she was a woman from a poor background, she rarely received credit for her discoveries. 

After she died in 1847, Mary Anning was forgotten about for many years. However, people realised how important she was and how her discoveries changed our understanding of life on Earth.


References:


Elena, F., and Francesca, C., 2016. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls. Timbuktu Labs, Incorporated 

BBC Guides, Who was Mary Anning? [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zf6vb82> [Accessed 3 May 2018]

BBC.co.uk, BBC - Primary History - Famous People - Mary Anning. [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/mary_anning/> [Accessed 3 May 2018]