Trailblazers
April 2026
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Sanctuary celebrates 19th-century paleontologist Mary Anning, whose skill, perseverance, and passion for scientific discovery enabled her to unearth fossils from 200 million years ago. |
Mary Anning with her Dog, Tray (c. 1840)
© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London "The lack of credit for Mary’s contributions to paleontology was due to her social status and gender. Many scientists of the day could not believe that a young woman from such a deprived background could possess the knowledge and skills needed for these discoveries." |
Mary Anning (1799-1847) was born on the southern shores of Lyme Regis, Great Britain. The cliffs at Lyme Regis were — and still are — rich in spectacular fossils from the Jurassic period. Although often described as “the greatest fossilist the world has ever known,” few knew of Mary’s accomplishments.
Mary’s dad, Richard, was a cabinetmaker and occasional fossil collector. He died in 1810, leaving his family in debt; however, he passed on his fossil hunting skills to his wife and children. The Anning family lived in poverty and anonymity, selling fossils from Lyme Regis, until the early 1820s, when the professional fossil collector Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Birch met the family and sympathized with their desperate financial situation. Birch held an auction to sell his fine fossil collection and donated the proceeds to the Anning family. Up to this point, Mary’s mother (also Mary) was running the business end of fossil collecting. By the middle of the 1820s, daughter Mary had established herself as the keen eye and accomplished anatomist of the family, and she began taking charge of the business. Mary helped discover the first specimen of ichthyosaurus known by London’s scientific community (discovered c. 1809-1811), when Mary was only 10 to 12 years old! While Mary did find the majority of the remains, her brother had discovered part of the beast twelve months earlier. Although the entire Anning family was involved in fossil hunting, Mary's skill and dedication produced many remarkable finds, providing the family with a means of income. Mary made many great discoveries, including several other ichthyosaur skeletons. Perhaps her most important find, from a scientific point of view, was her discovery of the first plesiosaur. Georges Cuvier, known as the father of paleontology, doubted the validity of the specimen when he first examined a detailed drawing, but he later realized that it was a genuine find, and the Annings became respected fossilists in the eyes of the scientific community. However, the majority of Mary's finds ended up in museums and personal collections without credit being given to her. As time passed, Mary and her family were forgotten by the scientific community and most historians, due to the lack of appropriate documentation of her special skills. The lack of credit for Mary’s contributions to paleontology was due to her social status and gender. Many scientists of the day could not believe that a young woman from such a deprived background could possess the knowledge and skills needed for these discoveries. Eventually, Mary’s incredible scientific understanding won the respect of the scientists of her time. Her discoveries were important in reconstructing the world's past and the history of life on earth millions of years ago. |
Some interesting facts...
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Mary Anning statue, Lyme Regis (2022)
Photo: Regency History |
