Mary Anning

25/04/2020 – Iso Well Being Compilation



Mary, Mary, quite contrary

To overwhelming public opinion

She proved beyond doubt,

Without so much as a shout,

That women could science as well.



Her name may be known in the circles

Of Palaeontologist types

But wider acclaim was not known,

And other names overblown,

Until much later on in the game.



Growing up in a coastal community

With a father who sold fossils on the side,

She was struck by lightning

And, though it was frightening,

She survived and positively bloomed.



Her interest in rocks began early,

With geology just starting to shine.

The cliffs at her door,

Snake stones of the floor,

And the devil’s fingers for sale by the gate.



Her life is was never easy,

With her father passing remarkably young.

Leading a dissenter’s life,
Leaving an indebted wife,

His children carried on the trade.



Brother Joseph dug up a large head,

An Ichthyosaur skull to be precise.

Not to be outdone

Mary had fun

Digging up the rest of the bones.



The skeleton was sold to one Mr Henly

For the sum of twenty-three pounds.

But though they searched the bluff

It was not close to enough

To help with paying the bills.



From Lincolnshire came a fine fellow,

A Lieutenant-Colonel by the name of Birch.

His heart it was kind

When he did find

That Mary’s family were so dreadfully poor.



He took his collection so exquisite,

Most found on the ground by poor Mary,

And auctioned them off

To many a toff,

And set the Annings on a steadier path.



Over the years she continued to find

Fossils of a variety of sizes.

Her reputation soared

And she never grew bored

Even when the cliffs took her beloved dog.



At twenty-four she found a Plesiosaur

The first intact and complete.

A flying dragon was next,

Her muscles she flexed,

As it hung at the British Museum.



Despite a schooling that was lacking somewhat,

She educated herself with aplomb.

She’d converse with a professor

Who’d think her none the lesser

For having taught what she knew to herself.



But the world of palaeontology

And the study of geology as well

Were closed to women

Only let him in,

And left Mary somewhat resentful.



The men who bought her fossils

Published the finds for only themselves.

No credit was given

Though others had striven

To find the objects on public display.



Over the years, Mary’s comprehension grew,

And she was considered to have great expertise.

They valued her knowledge

But on return to college

Few made note of her skills.



Financial woes once again found Mary

And friends came to her aide.

An annuity was awarded

As her accomplishments lauded

And her finances were secured to some extent.



She died from cancer of the breast,

Taken in what, today, would be her prime.

A stained window was made

That her memory not fade

And given the recognition she had been denied.



Her discoveries expanded our knowledge

And were evidence of a nature vital.

Such leaps and bounds

Covered the ground

Upon which the study of extinction would grow.



Her name can be found as you wander

Through many a natural history museum.

 With Anningasaura

Named lovingly for her

As well as many other fossilised things.



So Mary was indeed quite contrary,

Not silenced even in death.

Her legacy before us,

The Icthyosaurus,
Inspiring girls far and wide to dig.