Mary Anning

Princess of Paleontology

By: Olivia

Did you know that Mary Anning made a total of 5 major discoveries before the age of 30? Though she never received proper credit for it, she lay the groundwork for the entire field of paleontology. She found some of the very first dinosaur fossils.

Little Mary's early life had a big impact on her. Before Mary could walk, the nurse that was holding her was struck by lightning! The nurse was killed but baby Mary survived. Mary was named after an older sister who had burned to death in a fire. When Mary was barely eight, her father slipped down one of the treacherous rocky slopes of Lyme Ridges and though he managed to crawl home that day, the pain wracked him for the rest of his short life. He died three years later.

Major things occur in the middle of Mary's life. Just as a hobby, Mary collected dead creators from the beach and dissected them on her kitchen table. Though self-taught, Mary became an expert who could-and did- argue successfully with the most brilliant scholars of the age. When Mary was twelve, she discovered the first complete skeleton of an Ichthyosaur. She discovered four other major fossil finds including two different species of Plesiosaur, the second Pterodactyl ever (and the first specimen complete enough to confirm that, yes, some of these ancient reptiles could fly), and coprolites (fossilized poop). Mary ran a business and her customers often turned around to claim credit for her discoveries.

Mary had a rough end. The fossil rich beaches of her hometown eventually ran dry. She could find no more fossils. Her mother passed away and finally Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of forty-six. After she died, Mary's church was given a stain-glassed window in her honor, but it was too little too late. She would not be remembered as a Princess of Paleontology, instead a nameless woman who simply sold seashells by the sea shore.

So, Mary Anning may have had a rough beginning and end but in the middle, she made some very major finds. So next time you go to a museum or a rocky beach, think of Mary Anning and her finds.

My sources are...

Extra History video on Mary Anning

Book: The Dog that Dug for Dinosaurs

Book: Stone Girl, Bone Girl