Mary Anning

Mary Anning, circa 1842

Mary Anning is often associated these days with the famous rhyme, “She sells seashells by the seashore.” And that's true. She did sell seashells. But that was only a small part of her story. Mary has also been called “the greatest fossilist the world ever knew.”

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Mary was born into a poor family in Lyme Regis, England, in 1799. The small seaside town was full of fishermen’s cottages with salt-streaked walls, narrow cobbled streets, and the scent of seaweed carried on gusts of wind. It was also on what geologists now call the Jurassic Coast, a stretch of coastline layered with millions of years of history. On rainy days, the cliffside would sometimes give way, and with it, the bones of ancient creatures tumbled into the light.

Lyme Regis, 1844

Mary's father, a cabinetmaker named Richard, sometimes took Mary and her brother Joseph fossil hunting after the day’s work was done. They’d walk the cliffs, careful where they stepped, and he’d teach them to spot the odd shapes in the stone, what he called “curiosities.” Sometimes, they would set up a stall along the town’s main path, selling the fossils to passing tourists who had come to Lyme for its sea air and quiet charm.