Mary Anning - The Fossilist Who Changed Science

Mary Anning was a self-taught fossil hunter whose discoveries of ancient marine reptiles helped shape paleontology.

She was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, a small town on the southern coast of England. The area is now known as the Jurassic Coast because it is rich in fossils from the time of the dinosaurs. Mary’s discoveries helped shape the early study of paleontology, the science of ancient life.
Mary's family was extremely poor. Her father, Richard Anning, was a cabinetmaker and an amateur fossil collector. He would take Mary and her brother Joseph with him to search for fossils along the cliffs. Mary learned how to spot, clean, and sell fossils from her father. When Richard died in 1810, the family was left in debt. Mary was just 11 years old.
To help her family survive, Mary continued collecting and selling fossils. Her mother ran a small fossil shop called Anning’s Fossil Depot, where tourists visiting the seaside town could buy fossil souvenirs. During this time, fossil collecting was becoming popular, especially with wealthy people who kept fossils in their ‘Cabinets of Curiosity.’ One day, Joseph found a strange skull in the cliffs. Mary carefully searched the area and, after months of hard work, uncovered the full skeleton. Scientists later called it an Ichthyosaurus, which means ‘fish lizard.’ It was one of the first complete fossil skeletons ever found and caused a stir in the scientific world. Mary continued to make important discoveries. In 1823, she found the first full skeleton of a Plesiosaurus, a long-necked marine reptile. At first, famous scientists, like the French expert Georges Cuvier, thought it was a fake. But after close study, they realized it was real and praised Mary’s skill. In 1828, she discovered the first fossil of a flying reptile outside Germany. This creature, later named Dimorphodon, was an early type of pterosaur (flying reptile).
Although Mary had little formal education, she taught herself to read, and she studied geology and anatomy on her own. She often knew more about fossils than the scientists who visited her. Some respected her knowledge and asked her for help, but she was still not treated equally. Since she was a woman and came from a poor background, she was not allowed to join the Geological Society of London. She was also left out of scientific meetings, even ones about fossils she had discovered. Male scientists often used her fossils in their papers without giving her credit. One woman, Lady Harriet Silvester, wrote about how amazing it was that someone like Mary, poor and with no formal schooling, could understand fossils so well. But instead of giving Mary credit for her hard work and intelligence, she said Mary’s knowledge must have come from ‘divine favor.’ This shows how hard it was for women to be taken seriously in science at the time. Even with all of these challenges, Mary never gave up. She continued to hunt fossils and made many other discoveries, including early studies of coprolites, or fossilized animal droppings. These helped scientists learn more about ancient diets and ecosystems.
Mary Anning died from breast cancer in 1847 at the age of 47. Even though she made some of the most important fossil discoveries of her time, she was still poor when she died and did not get the recognition she deserved. Today, however, Mary is remembered as a pioneer. Many of her fossils are displayed at the Natural History Museum in London, and she is now considered a foundational figure in paleontology. Mary Anning’s story is important because she changed science through determination, skill, and curiosity. She broke through the barriers of poverty and sexism to make discoveries that still amaze people today. Though she was once forgotten, she is now celebrated as one of the greatest fossil hunters the world has ever known.

References:
“The Jurassic Period: How Did Dinosaurs Go from Basal to Bulky?” Natural History Museum, www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-jurassic-period.html.
Mary Anning (1799-1847), ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html.
“Mary Anning.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 18 July 2025, www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Anning.

Key words:
Science, Innovation, Perseverance, Courage, Responsibility, Selflessness, Face Prejudice, make a Difference.

Explore ARTEFFECT projects about this Unsung Hero:
Mary Anning artworks

Image Citation: Public Domain.