I missed the anniversary of Mary Anning's death yesterday, which didn't bother a single soul. Anning was a fascinating British woman with virtually no education who has become a key figure in the annals of paleontogolical discovery. She lived in the first half of the 19th century when religion and science had an uneasy relationship on the subject of dinosaurs and the age of the earth. As the explorations and writings of the former seminarian, Charles Darwin, rattled the religious world others were attempting to reconcile the two magisteria.
Anning was meticulous in her drawings
Anning had a remarkable ability to find fossils in the sea cliffs near her home of Lyme Regis. The fledgling field of paleontology was dominated by men, some scientists, some religious clerics. They were content to work with Mary and to largely take credit for her discoveries. She has finally being recognized in novels and films.
A film about Anning called Ammonite will be released later this year starring two of my favourite actors, Kate Winslett and Saorise Ronan. I hope the reviews are good -- it's hard to imagine that these two will be anything but excellent.
To see a brief film about Anning click on the link below.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/science/prolific-princess-of-paleontology-mary-anning/
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