Mary
Anning
Born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England
Daughter of Richard Anning
and Mary (Moore) Anning
Died
at age 47
in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
Profile last modified
| Created 25 Sep 2016
This page has been accessed 4,660 times.
Biography
Mary Anning is Notable.
Mary Anning was born in Dorset, England.
Mary Died from Breast Cancer
In the early 19th century, a time when paleontology was still a burgeoning field, Mary Anning collected fossils from the coastal cliffs and beaches of Lyme Regis in the southwest English county of Dorset. She struggled financially for much of her life and, as a woman, was not eligible to join the Geological Society of London. Mary seldom received full credit for her scientific contributions, yet became well known in geological circles in Britain, Europe, and America, and was consulted on issues of anatomy as well as fossil collecting. She is regarded as a pioneering figure by paleontologists today. [1]
Mary Anning was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, Dorset to Richard Anning, a cabinetmaker and carpenter who supplemented his income by mining the coastal cliff-side fossil beds near the town, and Molly Anning, and subsequently baptised in the Independent (Congregationalist) Chapel there on Coombe Street. [2] [3][4] Although one of ten children, only Mary and younger brother Joseph survived infancy and early childhood. She was named "Mary" after Richard & Molly's eldest daughter, who had died five months before this Mary was born. [4] She learned to read and write in the Sunday School of the Independent Chapel in Lyme, where she also gained a lifetime interest in Christianity. [4] Aged 47 years, Mary passed away in March 1847 after battling breast cancer and buried with several siblings in the St Michael's Church of England graveyard, Lyme Regis. [5]
- Key player in the development of paleontology as she discovered many notable specimens and near-complete skeletons of pre-historic organisms - Charles Darwin's ruminations and eventual theories are said to have been drawn, incorrectly, from her work
- was the inspiration for the children's tongue-twisty rhyme "She sells sea shells by the sea shore"[6]
- one of the most accomplished fossil hunters of her time[7] - lived in Lyme Regis
- 1826 opened a shop "Anning's Fossil Depot"[4]
- about 1830 she changed church affiliation from the independent Dissenters Congregationalist to the Established Church of England, not due to doctrinal issues but improved social-value [4]
- 1847 made an honorary member of the Geological Society
- 1850 Stained Glass Window in her memory unveiled, financed by members of the Geological Society of London [4]
- In August 2018, a campaign was formed by an 11-year-old schoolgirl from Dorset, Evie Swire, supported by her mother Anya Pearson. The campaign was set up to remember Anning in her hometown of Lyme Regis by erecting a statue and creating a learning legacy in her name. A crowdfunding campaign began, led by the charity Mary Anning Rocks. By January 2021, Evie Swire's campaign resulted in a commission to sculptor Denise Dutton. The statue was granted planning permission by Dorset Council for a space overlooking Black Ven, where Mary made many of her finds. Alice Roberts and Evie Swire unveiled the statue on 21 May 2022, the 223rd anniversary of Mary Anning's birth. [8][9]
Noted Fossil Finds
- 1811 found the Ichthyosaur skeleton that matched the skull her brother had found months earlier[4]
- 1821 6.1m skeleton of Ichthyosaurus platydon
- 10 Dec 1823 found first complete Plesiosaurus[4]
- 1828 Pterosaurs (first British examples)[4]
- 1829 Squaloraja fish skeleton[4]
- 1830 new type of Plesiosaur, Plesiosaurus macrocephalus
Sources
- ↑ mentalfoss.com. 22 Influential Women You Probably Didn't Learn About in School 28 March 2022; accessed 1 April 2022,
- ↑ England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970
- ↑ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 Baptism Place Combe Street-Independent, Lyme Regis, Dorset, England FHL Film Number0590699 (RG4 2269), 0590699 (RG4 462)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Wikipedia: Mary Anning, accessed 4 Nov 2016
- ↑ England, Select Dorset Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1999 FHL Film Number2427512
- ↑ "Naming Names." QI, Series L, Episode 1. 21 Oct 2016 BBC.
- ↑ Chakraborty, Deblina and Sarah Dowdey. "Mary Anning, Princess of Paleontology." Stuff You Missed in History Class (Podcast). 5 Mar 2012. How Stuff Works.com (web). 4 Nov 2016
- ↑ "Appeal launched for Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis". BBC News. 23 Nov 2020; accessed 21 May 2024
- ↑ "Lyme Regis Mary Anning statue designs released". BBC News. 5 Jan 2021; accessed 21 May 2024
- Wikipedia: Mary Anning
- Wikidata: Item Q230491, en:Wikipedia
- Guardian article March 16, 2019[1]
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Kathy (Goulstone) Viney
Melanie Paul
Jill (Turkington) Lee
DK Clews
Jill (Turkington) Lee
Kathy (Goulstone) Viney
Mary Anning was a fascinating person. Tracey Chevalier's 2009 novel, "Remarkable Creatures", was based on Mary's life and that of Elizabeth Philpot. Well worth reading.
posted
by Kathy (Goulstone) Viney
Melanie Paul
She passed away in March of 1947 after battling breast cancer.
posted
by Melanie Paul
Jill (Turkington) Lee
Thank you! This all seems MUCH clearer now.
posted
by Jill (Turkington) Lee
DK Clews
Anning-69 and Anning-68 do not represent the same person because: Mary Anning (Anning-69) was born first, died age 4 in a fire and the namesake of Mary Anning (Anning-68) who was born 5 months later. See Wikipedia: "Richard and Molly had ten children.[9] The first child, Mary, was born in 1794. She was followed by another girl, who died almost at once; Joseph in 1796; and another son in 1798, who died in infancy. In December that year, the oldest child, then four years old, died after her clothes caught fire, possibly while adding wood shavings to the fire.[8] The incident was reported in the Bath Chronicle on 27 December 1798: "A child, four years of age of Mr. R. Anning, a cabinetmaker of Lyme, was left by the mother for about five minutes ... in a room where there were some shavings ... The girl's clothes caught fire and she was so dreadfully burnt as to cause her death."[10] When another daughter was born just five months later, she was named Mary after her dead sister. More children were born after her, but none of them survived more than a couple of years. Only Mary and Joseph survived to adulthood."
posted
by DK Clews
Jill (Turkington) Lee
Anning-69 and Anning-68 appear to represent the same person because: These two profiles are obvious duplicates.
posted
by Jill (Turkington) Lee
Featured German connections: Mary is 27 degrees from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 31 degrees from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 31 degrees from Lucas Cranach, 29 degrees from Stefanie Graf, 25 degrees from Wilhelm Grimm, 32 degrees from Fanny Hensel, 34 degrees from Theodor Heuss, 22 degrees from Alexander Mack, 41 degrees from Carl Miele, 23 degrees from Nathan Rothschild, 27 degrees from Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering and 26 degrees from Ferdinand von Zeppelin on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.