Summary Of Mary Anning's Pioneering Women In The History Of Geology

Dr. Renee M. Clary of Mississippi State University Department of Geosciences gave presentation at Plymouth Bluff Center on the founding women of geology. She titled her presentation Pioneering Women in the History of Geology: More than Sellers of Seashells by the Seashore. At the start of her presentation, she presented a challenge. The challenge was to say the following tongue twister: she sells seashores by the seashore as fast and accurate as possible. She informed us that this saying is about Mary Anning (1799-1847) who family sold seashells and fossils from Lyme Regions Cliffs. In the 18th and 19th century, it was unknown for women to be consider as a geologist. Only wealthy men who were raised in well-developed system were allowed to

Although, the geology community consisted of very small circles and women were excluded, she had excellent knowledge of the paleontological structures. She found and sold fossils of ammonites and developed the most prominent ties in the geology community. One of Anning main contributes is recovering full fossils skeletons of many organisms found on Lyme Regions Cliffs. Those ties include Henry De la Beche and William Buckland (premier scientist). Henry was a very wealthy gentle man who helped give Anning credits for her discoveries. He also provide public education about geology to all social classes and drawn the first picture of ancient life which he sold to help raise money for Anning. When Anning past due to breast cancer in 1847, Henry wrote her obituary which was the first and only one awarded to a non-member of the geology

She was born in an early time where women were allowed society as collectors and wives. Etheland was a wealthy and noble collector who provided many of her collections to gentlemen to help name and classify them. Even though she did not receive credit for her research monograph, she was rewarded an honorary doctorate. Unfortunately, she received the award by accident (as she was mistaken for a man) and later had to give it back. Although her drawings were considered crude and not detailed, she attempted to name and illustrate a sieve for microfossils. She knew woman could not name fossils and receive permission from Geenith to name them. Thus making her the first woman to name fossil taxa.
The U.S.A. made the first step in allowing women into the geology community. Although she was not the first woman to complete the requirements, Florence Bascom was the woman to received her Ph.D. in geology, practiced geology, and be employed as a geology in the USA. She was influenced by the men in her life especially her father. He encouraged her to study crystallology. I believe her greatest accomplishment was training the next generation of women in geology. As a teacher, she educated many women paleontologists’ founders. Many went into teaching, practicing geology or crystallology, or studying volcanic