Mary Anning was born on May 21, 1799, in Lyme Regis, a small coastal town in Dorset, England. She was the daughter of Richard and Mary Anning, who were both poor and worked as cabinetmakers. Mary was the youngest of ten children, but only she and her brother Joseph survived infancy.

Mary’s father often took her and Joseph on fossil-hunting expeditions along the cliffs and beaches of Lyme Regis. They would collect fossils and sell them to tourists and collectors to make a living. Mary’s father died when she was just 11 years old, leaving the family in financial hardship.

To help support her family, Mary continued to collect and sell fossils. She became an expert in identifying and preparing fossils, and her discoveries soon caught the attention of scientists and collectors. In 1811, when Mary was just 12 years old, she and her brother discovered the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton. This was a significant discovery, as it was the first time scientists had seen a complete skeleton of this extinct marine reptile.

Over the years, Mary continued to make important fossil discoveries, including the first complete plesiosaur skeleton in 1823. She also discovered several new species of fossils, including the ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus and the plesiosaur Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus.

Despite her significant contributions to the field of paleontology, Mary faced many challenges as a woman in a male-dominated field. She was often excluded from scientific societies and was not allowed to attend university or present her findings at scientific conferences. However, she continued to work tirelessly, and her discoveries helped to shape our understanding of prehistoric life.

Mary Anning died on March 9, 1847, at the age of 47, from breast cancer. She is remembered as one of the most important paleontologists of her time and a trailblazer for women in science.