Mary Anning

Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist. She became known around the world for her discoveries in Jurassic sea fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset, in South West England. Her findings helped change how scientists thought about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.

Anning searched for fossils in the cliffs of Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone. She often searched in the winter, when landslides uncovered new fossils. These had to be collected quickly before the sea washed them away. Her discoveries included the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton, which she found when she was twelve years old. She also found the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons, the first pterosaur skeleton found outside Germany, and fish fossils. Her observations played a key part in showing that coprolites, which were called bezoar stones at the time, were fossilised faeces. She also found that belemnite fossils contained fossilised ink sacs like those of modern cephalopods.

Anning struggled with money for much of her life. As a woman, she was not allowed to join the Geological Society of London, and she did not always receive full credit for her scientific work. Her friend, the geologist Henry De la Beche, painted Duria Antiquior, the first widely shared picture of a scene from prehistoric life based on fossil reconstructions. He based it largely on fossils Anning had found, and he sold prints of the painting to help her.

Anning became well known in geological circles in Britain, Europe, and America. People asked for her advice on anatomy as well as on collecting fossils. The only scientific writing of hers published during her lifetime appeared in the Magazine of Natural History in 1839. It was an extract from a letter she had written to the magazine's editor, questioning one of its claims. After her death in 1847, interest in her unusual life story grew.

Life and career

Further information: Jurassic Coast and List of fossil sites

Mary Anning was born in Lyme Regis in Dorset, England, on 21 May 1799. Her father, Richard, was a cabinetmaker who searched the cliffs near the town for fossils and sold them to tourists. Mary often went fossil hunting with him and her brother Joseph, and the family sold their finds from a table outside their home. Richard died in 1810, leaving the family with debts. In 1811 Joseph found a large ichthyosaur skull, and in 1812 Mary found the rest of the skeleton. In 1820 a wealthy collector held an auction of fossils he had bought from the family, which raised a large sum and made the family better known. Mary became known for her skill and knowledge. She ran a fossil shop, and in December 1823 she found the first complete Plesiosaurus.

As a woman, Mary was not welcome in the scientific world. The Geological Society of London did not admit women. Male geologists often published descriptions of her finds without naming her, and she felt resentful. Still, she made friends with many scientists, including Henry De la Beche and Charlotte Murchison. In the 1830s she faced money problems, and in 1835 she lost most of her savings. A government pension later gave her some financial security. Mary died of breast cancer on 9 March 1847, at the age of 47. Her work was remembered with a stained-glass window, and De la Beche gave a eulogy for her to the Geological Society, the first such eulogy given for a woman.

Major discoveries

See also: History of palaeontology and Timeline of palaeontology

Anning's first famous find came shortly after her father's death, when she was about 12. In 1811 her brother Joseph found a 4 ft (1.2 m) skull but could not find the rest of the animal. Anning then found the skeleton, which was 17 ft (5.2 m) long, a few months later. The specimen was bought and shown to the public in London by William Bullock, where it caused a sensation. Its ichthyosaur remains raised questions about the new science of geology and the history of the Earth. Sir Everard Home described the fossil in a series of papers for the Royal Society, but he did not name Anning as the person who collected it. Later, William Conybeare and Henry De la Beche showed that ichthyosaurs were a type of marine reptile that had not been known before. Anning found more ichthyosaur skeletons, and in 1821 she found a 20 ft (6.1 m) skeleton used to name Temnodontosaurus platyodon. Conybeare also named the plesiosaur in 1821. In 1823 Anning found a more complete plesiosaur skeleton, and her fossils were the basis for later work by William Buckland, Georges Cuvier, and Richard Owen. In 1824 a Megalosaurus dinosaur was also described at a meeting where Conybeare presented his plesiosaur findings, which created a sensation.

Anning also found other kinds of fossils. She found a ray-finned fish, Dapedium politum, and in 1828 she made an important find of a partial pterosaur skeleton, which Buckland later named Dimorphodon macronyx. In 1829 she found the fish Squaloraja, which had features between sharks and rays. In 1826 she found what looked like a dried ink chamber inside a belemnite, and she compared it to the ink sacs of squid and cuttlefish, which helped scientists understand cephalopods. She also suspected that odd "bezoar stones" were fossilised waste, and Buckland later named them coprolites. Buckland praised her skill and hard work when he presented these findings.

Recognition and legacy

Anning's discoveries became key evidence for extinction. Until the early 1820s, many scientifically minded people still believed that living kinds of animals did not die out. Anning's strange fossils, such as the plesiosaur, were so unlike any living creature that they challenged this idea. Her finds, along with the first dinosaur fossils discovered by Gideon Mantell and William Buckland, showed that the Earth had once been home to very different creatures. This supported the idea of an "age of reptiles," a time when giant reptiles were the main animals. Her work also helped lead to the study of ancient life, which came to be called palaeontology.

Anning has been honoured in many ways. In 2010, the Royal Society included her in a list of the ten British women who have most influenced the history of science. The Lyme Regis Museum was built on the site of her former home in 1902, and the area where she collected fossils is now part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. In 2021, the Royal Mint issued commemorative fifty pence coins in her honour, and in March 2024 the Royal Mail issued a set of four stamps celebrating her. The Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz was the only person who named a species after her during her lifetime. An asteroid, an area on Mars explored by the Curiosity rover, and a plateau on Venus have also been named after her. The 2020 film Ammonite, directed by Francis Lee, was based on parts of her life and featured Kate Winslet as Anning.

Main article: Statue of Mary Anning

In 2022, a statue of Anning was unveiled in Lyme Regis by Professor Alice Roberts and Evie Swire, the schoolgirl who started the "Mary Anning Rocks" campaign to honour her. The statue was unveiled on 21 May 2022, the 223rd anniversary of Anning's birth.