About Mary Anning

Mary Anning was born in Lyme Regis in 1799. She was a very poor young girl who loved to go searching for ‘curiosities’ with her father along the shore. When her father sadly died, Mary continued his passion and was only 12 years old when she excavated her first fossil. This fossil turned out to be a 5.2 metre long ichthyosaurus! Mary spent lots of time searching for fossils along the Dorset coast with her loyal dog Troy and made many incredible discoveries such as a Plesiosaur skeleton and even found the first Pterodactyl. Mary however was a poor women and in the 1800s this meant she was not always credited for her findings and male scientists often took her successes for their own. Sadly, Mary died in 1847 but is now known for her amazing career as a palaeontologist and role model for young women.

Mary Anning’s dedication to palaeontology displays how important it is to continue our passions even when society may not deem these appropriate for our age, gender or social capital. We would love our class to create their own individual interests and blossom in knowledge.