Portrait of Mary Anning with her dog Tray and the Golden Cap outcrop in the background

Mary Anning was born on 21 May 1799. She lived in the English seaside town of Lyme Regis in Dorset.

Mary would spend her time searching the coast looking for what she called ‘curiosities’.

Later in her life, as she developed a better understanding of her finds, she realised they were actually fossils.

Over the course of her life she made many incredible discoveries. This made her famous among some of the most important scientists of the day. They would visit her for advice and to discuss scientific ideas about fossils. Today, Mary is remembered as one of the greatest fossil hunters to have ever lived.

Mary Anning made her first big discovery when she found a 5.2 m long skeleton in 1811, at the age of only 12 years old. Scientists initially thought that the mysterious fossil was a crocodile, and discussed and studied it for years before naming it Ichthyosaurus. Today, we know that Ichthyosaurus was a marine reptile that lived about 200 million years ago but, at the time of Anning's discovery, the theory of extinction was new, and Darwin's evolutionary theory not yet published. Anning remained committed to fossil collecting throughout her life, uncovering and identifying fossil after fossil and, in theory, she should have become a respected paleontologist as a result. In practice, many male scientists published papers about her fossils without crediting her. She was also accused of faking fossils, and the Geological Society of London refused to admit her because of her gender. This meant that she was under financial strain when she died in 1847, despite a lifetime of extraordinary discoveries, including finds of Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus and Pterosaur.

After her death in 1847, Mary was forgotten about for many years. However, people started to realise how important her discoveries were. In fact, she is now remembered as one of the greatest fossil hunters ever.

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