Wednesday Geek Woman: Mary Anning, fossil hunter, dealer, and paleontologist

Sketch of "Plesiosaurus macrocephalus" by William Buckland. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Toward the end of her life, Anning began to see more recognition for her accomplishments. She was awarded an annuity by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the British government. The £25 annual pension recognized her contributions to geology and gave her a degree of financial security. The Dorset County Museum made her an honorary member in 1846, and when she passed away from breast cancer a year later, she was the first woman to be eulogized by the Geological Society of London.

Mary Anning has been called “the greatest fossilist of all time.” Her many achievements would be stunning today; for the time in which she lived, they are nothing short of extraordinary.

Sources:

British Natural History Museum

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-natural-history/biographies/mary-anning/index.html

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning

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