Raquel Eriz

September 1, 2006

TESC 417

Mary Anning

Females have continually struggled throughout history to earn equality in a struggle against their male counterparts. Though just as deserving, many women are swept under the rug of history, without due credit being given to their scientific, literary or artistic contributions. One such female, Mary Anning, was the foremost contributor to the study of paleontology during her time and only recently is being recognized by the scientific community. Poverty and sexism kept Mary’s work in the shadows in a world of male aristocracy. Today, relatively little is known about Mary Anning but her contribution to the study of paleontology is undeniable.

Anning was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, a village located on the fossil rich coast of southern Great Britain. She was born to parents Richard and Mary (Molly), who had as many as ten children, only Mary and her brother Joseph surviving (Mary UCMP). Mary’s father, Richard was a cabinetmaker who occasionally collected fossils, exposing Mary at a young age. Unfortunately, Richard died in 1810 leaving Mary’s family without a provider (Mary UCMP). Richard’s death encouraged Mary to further her interest in fossil collecting, and eventually her family was able establish a fossil-hunting reputation throughout the town. Without Mary’s persistent desire to collect specimens, her family would have been forced to rely more heavily on charity.

Mary’s career was difficult and unique. Foremost, she was a lower class woman in a field dominated by aristocratic male scholars during Regency and early Victorian times. Some accounts claim that her personality and chosen career were a curiosity, drawing tourists to Lyme Regis (Finder). Secondly, the seaside cliffs of Lyme Regis were shifty and dangerous, making Mary’s collecting risky business. Her dog Spot was actually killed due to an unexpected rockslide.

Mary is historically enigmatic, thus numerous accounts circulate regarding her life. It is said that after her father’s death, twelve year old Mary did not return to the shore for nearly a year. Her mother in mourning, Mary wandered to the familiar shores of Lyme Regis, and upon her return carried with her a coiled ammonite she retrieved from the beach (App. 1). On her way home, a woman offered her a half a crown for the treasure and for the first time Mary received financial compensation for her work (Goodhue). With her family in tremendous debt, Mary thus decided to pursue the dangerous career of fossil hunting.

Regardless of the validity of this supposed exchange, Mary nonetheless decided to pursue paleontology. Luckily for Mary, Lyme Regis developed into a summer vacation town for royalty (Norman). Often times, these visitors desired to take mementos home thus giving Mary an ample chance to sell her curiosities. It is said the nursery rhyme She sells sea shells by the sea shore is actually inspired by Anning’s entrepreneurial endeavors. As Mary’s fame spread, she was given the opportunity to sell her fossils to rather wealthy clientele.

Though Mary’s circumstances were undeniably favorable, her skills as a fossil hunter should not be underestimated. The geology of Lyme Regis exposes Jurassic sedimentation perfect for fossil hunting. It is believed that Mary was ten to twelve years old when she discovered the first Ichthyosaurus (App. 2) remains to be recognized by the scientific community of London (Mary UCMP). This is the first milestone in an incredibly successful career which many would say culminated with her discovery of the first Plesiosaurus (App. 3). Anning also discovered a Pterodactylus, the credit for its discovery being taken by acquaintance William Buckland who is mentioned later. Mary’s remarkable finds drew serious interest from numerous members of the scientific community, and her perseverance resulted in a plethora of contributions.

Luckily for Mary, Lyme Regis was a geological crossroads that brought her into contact with three other important geological figures of the time. First was William Buckland, the eventual first Professor of Geology at Oxford. Buckland lived in nearby Axminster and frequented Lyme Regis in order to collect fossils (Norman). Second, was Sir Henry De La Beche, who was to become the first director of the British Geological Survey and lived in Lyme Regis from 1812 onward. Lastly was William Conybeare, a key figure in the development of the Geological Society of London, who frequented Lyme Regis from Axminster (Norman). These coincidental associations undoubtedly accelerated Mary’s career, making her discoveries widely available to the scientific community.

Mary’s discoveries undoubtedly challenged historical notions, specifically religious assumptions regarding Earth history. Her marine reptiles were strong evidence for George Cuvier’s assertion that past faunas had existed and gone extinct. Displayed in museums, these discoveries were shocking to a public accustomed to believing the world was created in 4004 B.C. (Taylor). Interestingly, Mary did not let her discoveries sever her own religious beliefs. Rather, Mary remained a member of a church until her untimely death. It is noted that her faith was unwavering and only reinforced by the dangerous nature of her work (Goodhue). Anning changed denominations in the latter part of her life, joining the Anglican church. It is suspected that this change happened for two reasons. Firstly, moving from chapel to church was a way for a merchant to move among the higher social classes (Goodhue). This seems reasonable considering the majority of Mary’s customers were upper class citizenry. Secondly, Anglicanism was not narrow but a communion permitting a variety of beliefs (Goodhue). With Mary’s strong scientific background, Anglicanism was probably a comfortable place for her to blend her scientific and religious beliefs.

Mary’s attitude of unconformity also permeated her love life. She was seen as a spinster, unmarried during a time in which woman aimed to be married in their late teens. Rumors regarding her personal life circulated Lyme Regis, most interestingly her supposed relationship with geologist William Buckland. His daughter wrote in her biography of him, “The vacations of his earlier Oxford time were spent near Lyme Regis. For years afterwards local gossip preserved traditions of his adventures with that geological celebrity, Mary Anning, in whose company he was to be seen wading up to his knees in search of fossils in the blue lias…”(Pierce). Buckland eventually moved his family to Lyme, and Mary continued a friendship with his children. Regardless of Mary’s supposed relationship with Buckland, Mary maintained an independent attitude toward the opposite sex. It is said that she was adamant about what she wanted in a man, calling the men who frequented Lyme “things or numskulls, not men” (Pierce). Mary thus remained unmarried for the duration of her life.

Mary’s fame eventually subsided. This may be contributed to numerous reasons, including the fact that Mary did not write scientific papers. Her finds ended up in personal collections and museums without due credit being given to their founder (Mary UCMP). Documentation is also lacking regarding Mary’s skills as a geologist. One surviving account written by Lady Harriet Sivester, the widow of the former Recorder of the City of London says:

…the extraordinary thing in this young woman is that she has made herself so thoroughly acquainted with the science that the moment she finds any bones she knows to what tribe they belong. She fixes the bones on a frame with cement and then makes drawings and has them engraved…it is certainly a wonderful instance of divine favour - that this poor, ignorant girl should be so blessed, for by reading and application she has arrived to that degree of knowledge as to be in the habit of writing and talking with professors and other clever men on the subject, and they all acknowledge that she understands more of the science than anyone else in this kingdom (Mary UCMP).

The most unfortunate part of Mary’s history is that few other accounts attest to her scientific contributions. Only recently have researchers shed light on her remarkable contributions.

Mary’s scientific contributions were also hampered by the Church of England’s efforts to stifle the scientific community. Patricia Pierce, an Anning biographer notes, “Fossils and the questions they raised caused alarm among clerics, who saw faith in Genesis being directly confronted” (Pierce). The Church was extremely influential and the theory of Creation remained firmly in place to until the 1830’s. Anning’s discoveries also remained unknown due to the cost of scholarly subscriptions. A subscription to the Geological Society of England would have cost a poor Dorset family almost two months income (Taylor). Often then, only aristocratic men had access to new information regarding scientific exploration. The irony of Anning’s story is that many of men who helped to stifle her success are long forgotten in history.

There are numerous quotations that survive regarding Mary which shed light onto her life and person. Her own mother described her saying, “she is a history and a mystery” (Birth). A visitor to Lyme, Anna Maria Piney, wrote of Mary in her journal, “she glories in being afraid of no one and saying everything she pleases” (Birth). This quote is allusive to Mary’s strong and independent nature. Gideon Mantell described Anning with less favor calling her, “a prim, pedantic, vinegar looking, thing female, shrewd and rather satirical in her conversation,” (Birth). Mary’s attitude may be explained by her own view of herself. In a letter in 1824 she says, “The world has used me so unkindly, I fear it has made me suspicious of all mankind” (Birth). Mary was fully aware of her degraded position as a poor female in the scientific community, though she was responsible for many of the discoveries that shaped the very thinking of her time.

It is important to detail more clearly Mary’s five major scientific contributions. First was Mary’s Ichthyosaurus of 1812. This was the first complete skeleton unearthed of this marine, crocodile-like animal. The skull of the animal now resides in the Natural History Museum in London (Pierce). Her second discovery came in 1823 when she unearthed a Plesiosaurus giganteus from under Black Ven Cliff. The Plesiosaurus was also a marine reptile, now residing in the Natural History Museum. Five years later in December of 1828, Mary discovered the first British Pterodactylus macronyx (more recently known as Dimorphodon macronyx), a creature with large feeble wings and numerous teeth. Soon after, in 1829, Mary unearthed a Squaloraja polyspondyla, a fossil fish that now resides in the Oxford University Museum (Pierce). Then in December of 1830, Anning unearthed a Plesiosaurus macrocephalus, presently located in the Natural History Museum. Mary also unearthed countless other small creatures including crustacea and mollusca. When described in succession, her true contribution to the scientific community is even more profound.

With such an overwhelming array of discoveries, Mary was still confronted with financial hardship. Lieutenant-Colonel Birch of Lincolnshire became acquainted with the Anning family through his frequent visits to Charmouth (Mary Dorset). A professional fossil collector, he sympathized with their desperate financial situation. In an effort to aid the family, Birch decided to hold an auction to sell his personal fossil collection, all of the proceeds going to the Anning family (Mary Dorset). He believed the Annings should not have to live with such difficulty considering that they had “found almost all the fine things, which have been submitted to scientific investigation” (Mary Dorset). Unfortunately, around 1830, hard financial times plagued England.

This forced Mary once again into a financial struggle, the economy not fit for people to purchase her gorgeous fossils. One upper class customer, the previously mentioned Henry de la Beche, created yet another fundraiser to help Anning’s desperate situation. He drew a cartoon inspired by Mary named Duria Antiquior, or Ancient Dorset, converting it into a lithograph. He then sold the creation to numerous member of the Geological Society of London (Mary Dorset). It is comforting to note that although Mary was drowned by sexism and social issues, that there were members of the scientific community who recognized her importance.

This recognition actually helped sustain Mary for a majority of her life. Because the selling of fossils did not fully support her family, the British Association for the Advancement of Science granted her an annuity (Pierce). During a meeting in Dublin in 1835, the association raised 200 pounds for the fund through subscription. The government then increased the fund by donating 300 pounds. It is said that William Buckland had been successful in persuading Prime Minister William Lamb, Lord Melbourne to approve it (Pierce). The annuity began in 1838 at 25 pounds a year. Mary was thus able to live modestly during the last years of her life. Though the government’s offer appeared generous, it was criticized by some. John Murray wrote, “The pitiable pension doled out by the niggard hand of the Government…confines its honours and rewards to military prowess or naval heroism, and contrives to forget the imperishable triumphs of mind in science, literature and the arts…” (Pierce). Unfortunately, Murray was correct in his assertion regarding government funds, but the Geological Society of London eventually added to Mary’s financial aid, collecting a stipend for her after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1846.

In 1846, months before her death, Mary was made an honorary member of the Geological Society of London, in recognition of her geological contributions. She also became the first Honorary Member of the new Dorset County Museum in Dorchester, established that year (Pierce). Mary was then recognized after her death in 1847 when friend Henry De La Beche, who had known her since childhood, included her in his annual address to the Geological Society, regarding their fallen comrades. He said:

I cannot close this notice of our losses by death without adverting to that of one, who though not placed among even the easier classes of society, but one who had to earn her daily bread by her labour, yet contributed by her talents and untiring researches in no small degree to our knowledge of the great Enalio-Saurians, and other forms of organic life entombed in the vicinity of Lyme Regis…(Pierce)

It is comforting to know that Mary was regarded in this way at the close of her life, considering the numerous challenges she faced as a woman in a male dominated industry.

Unfortunately, disturbing rumors did surround the end of Mary’s life. In her last few years, it was rumored that she had taken to the bottle (Mary Dorset). Sadly, Mary was actually drinking laudanum, an opiate derivative, to numb the pain of breast cancer. It was common for women to take opium during Anning’s time, generally to ease the pain of rib-crushing corsets. Though the side-effects of laudanum are drowsiness and/or euphoria, Mary continued working until the end (Pierce). It was rumored that she began drinking her mysterious liquid in larger quantities nearing her death. She eventually succumbed to breast cancer at not yet 50 years of age on Tuesday, March 9 of 1847.

It is supposed that Mary’s physical well being was also deteriorated by factors outside of her disease. First were the deprivations of poverty, and her desperate searches for fossils to provide income (Pierce). She was also constantly exposed to the elements including harsh coastal winds and rain. Mary probably also suffered a lifetime of deep-seated stress and agitation because people continued to take credit for her work (Pierce). These factors in conjunction with breast cancer proved detrimental to Mary’s life taking her at a young age.

Though Mary led what most would deem as a miserable life, the world should be grateful that she lived. Without Mary, the subject of paleontology would have been years behind, leaving the world to rely on Genesis as the sole source of Earth’s history for an even longer period of time. Though Mary’s story is unique, females have continually been abandoned by a male dominated history. Only in retrospect has Mary’s scientific contribution truly been recognized. Anning’s story should make the world question the validity of history, as many tried to take credit for the amazing discoveries found by her due to her sex and social status.

WORKS CITED

“Finder of Fossils.” San Diego Supercomputer Center. 25 July 2006. http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/anning.html

Goodhue, Thomas W. “Mary Anning: the fossilist as exegete.” Endeavor 29.1 (2005): 29-32.

“Mary Anning and the Birth of Geology.” Lyme Regis Museum. 23 July 2006. http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/fossils.htm

“Mary Anning.” The Dorset Page. 2000. 25 July 2006. http://www.thedorsetpage.com/people/Mary_Anning.htm

“Mary Anning.” UCMP Berkeley. 25 July 2006. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.htm

Norman, David B. “Mary Anning and her times: the discovery of British paleontology (1820-1850).” Tree 14.11 (1999): 420-421.

Pierce, Patricia. Jurassic Mary. United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing Limited, 2006.

Taylor, Michael A. “The greatest fossilist the world ever knew: Mary Anning (1799- 1847).” Endeavor 23.3 (1999): 93-94.