Mary Anning (1799–1847) was a British fossil collector, dealer and
palaeontologist who became known around the world for important finds
she made in the Jurassic marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis where she
lived. Her work contributed to fundamental changes in scientific
thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the earth. Her
discoveries included the first ichthyosaur skeleton to be correctly
identified, found when she was just twelve years old; the first two
plesiosaur skeletons ever found; the first pterosaur skeleton located
outside Germany; and important fish fossils. Her observations were
critical to the discovery that coprolites were fossilised faeces. Her
gender and social class prevented her from fully participating in the
scientific community of 19th-century Britain and she struggled
financially for much of her life. As a woman she was not eligible to
join the Geological Society of London, and she did not always receive
full credit for her scientific contributions. After her death her
unusual life story attracted increasing interest. In 2010 the Royal
Society included Anning in a list of the ten British women who have most
influenced the history of science.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1856:
A crowd of about 800 pro-slavery Americans ransacked the town
of Lawrence, Kansas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacking_of_Lawrence>
1904:
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the
international sport governing body of association football, was founded
in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA>
1927:
Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, American aviator Charles
Lindbergh completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, flying
from Roosevelt Field near New York City to Paris – Le Bourget Airport.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>
1981:
The Italian government released the membership list of
Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that had been implicated
in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due>
1996:
Algerian Civil War: The remains of seven French Trappist monks
who had been kidnapped in Algeria nearly two months earlier were found.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_the_monks_of_Tibhirine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cloudburst:
A sudden heavy rainstorm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cloudburst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Trust not your self; but your Defects to know, Make use of ev'ry Friend
— and ev'ry Foe.
--Alexander Pope
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope>
Show replies by date