Mary Anning: Fossil Hunter of Lyme Regis Explained
Mary Anning found the first ichthyosaur at age 12 and shaped paleontology despite poverty.
How did a poor girl change science?
Mary Anning was born in 1799 in Lyme Regis, England, and sold fossils to survive after her father died. At age 12 she and her brother uncovered a 5-meter ichthyosaur skeleton from cliffs dated 200 million years old.
She later found the first complete plesiosaur in 1823 and the first British pterosaur in 1828. Dealers paid her a few pounds while museums displayed her 9-meter specimens without naming her as discoverer.
Why was she forgotten for so long?
London scientists used her finds to prove extinction, yet the Geological Society barred women and published her work under male names. Anning earned about 150 pounds yearly from sales, barely enough for tools and rent in Lyme.
She died in 1847 at age 47 from cancer, still poor despite discovering three landmark species. Today schools honor her with statues and a 2010 commemorative doodle, recognizing 200 years of overlooked fossil expertise.
- Born 1799 in Lyme Regis England
- Found 5-meter ichthyosaur at age 12
- Discovered plesiosaur 1823 pterosaur 1828
- Earned 150 pounds yearly selling fossils
- Died 1847 aged 47 honored later