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An anonymous account of Mary Anning (1799–1847), fossil collector of Lyme Regis, England, published in Chambers's journal in 1857, and its attribution to Frank Buckland (1826–1880), George Roberts ( c .1804–1860) and William Buckland (1784–1856)
Abstract
The authors of an anonymous article on Mary Anning (1799-1847), published in Chambers's journal in 1857, are identified to allow the article to be fully evaluated for the first time. Payment was made to the natural-history writer Frank Buckland (1826-1880). However, he incorporated much material from the books of his friend George Roberts (c. 1804-1860), Lyme Regis historian and schoolmaster, and from, most probably, a manuscript memoir by his father, the geologist William Buckland (1784-1856), recalling the day of the 1800 lightning strike on a group including Anning. This throws new light on their networking, William Buckland's dementia, and George Roberts's activities, including his original observation of the resting-site fidelity of limpets (Patella) and his final years.
... George Roberts operated a private school in Lyme Regis. He was also twice mayor of the borough and a fine local historian (Torrens 1995;Taylor and Torrens 2014a;Powell 2018;Sharpe 2020). He is not known to have been a significant fossil collector himself, but he was well aware of the local geology of Lyme Regis. ...
... Perhaps to avoid accusations of excessive diversion from the generally accepted curriculum, he carefully emphasized that geology should not distract from the importance of learning these 'dead languages, which are the key to the technical terms of all sciences' (Roberts 1839, p. x). William Buckland (1784-1856, another noted researcher on Lyme Regis geology and a friend of Roberts, was a native of nearby Axminster (Taylor and Torrens 2014a). He was President of the Geological Society for 1824-26 and 1839-41. ...
Despite the modern celebrity of the fossil collector Mary Anning (1799–1847) of Lyme Regis and her frequent use as an icon in scientific education and popularization, there are few accounts of her life by her contemporaries. We report here a previously unpublished anonymous manuscript memoir of Anning's life, in the Special Collections of the University of Bristol Library. Evidence from textual analysis and handwriting corroborates its attribution to George Roberts (bap. 1804–60) of Lyme Regis, schoolmaster and historian. He wrote it at some time during 1837–47, perhaps 1839–47, by adapting a passage in his 1834 history of Lyme Regis. It was apparently intended for a new book, but was altered into an obituary after Anning's death. Evidence is presented that Roberts wrote the obituary of Anning in the Athenæum , which was widely republished in newspapers. Henry De la Beche (1796–1855) published another obituary in the Proceedings of the Geological Society . Roberts helped him to obtain information from Anning's family, but did not use this new information in his manuscript. Benjamin J.M. Donne (1831–1928), a former pupil of Roberts, painted the Society's portrait of Anning. A claim that it was commissioned by a group, mostly Fellows of the Society, remains unconfirmed.
... Mary Anning (1799Anning ( -1847 (Fig. 1) is perhaps the single most famous historical fossil collector in the world, about whom more has been written than almost any palaeontological figure (Oldroyd, 2013;Taylor and Torrens, 2014). Within her lifetime, Mary Anning became well-known as a collector and seller of fossils, both to prominent scientists and wealthy collectors (e.g. ...
Temporally available at: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZHtl3qItyaTp Mary Anning, Alfred Nicholson Leeds and Steve Etches form part of a long line of individuals who furnished a substantial addition to our understanding of marine and terrestrial ecosystems through collecting significant numbers of superb fossils. For all three collectors, fossils became a factor that dominated their lives, and their fossil collecting led to the discovery of numerous taxa new to science. Extensive collecting was made possible by the fortunate circumstances of living ‘in the right place at the right time’ close to fine-grained UK Jurassic deposits (Lagerstätten) with well-preserved large Jurassic marine reptiles. All three were highly-motivated and developed a considerable skill sets for discovering, collecting, preparing, conserving and displaying fossils. They developed personal and professional interactions with family and friends, and university and museum professionals, although their collecting resulted in variable recognition of their work. Each collector can be considered a complex mix of amateur and professional: Mary Anning, a professional fossil collector and amateur palaeontologist; Alfred Leeds transitioned from amateur to professional fossil collector, but remained an amateur palaeontologist; and Steve Etches has remained an amateur fossil collector and palaeontologist. However, all three exhibited an entirely professional outlook to collecting, and should be considered professionals of the highest degree. The impact of Mary Anning, Alfred Nicholson Leeds and Steve Etches has been critical for the development of Palaeontology as a science, and without whom palaeontology, with all its associated benefits to a wide scientific and non-scientific audience, would not be as rich as we currently know it.
Bu makalede İngiltere’de fosil bilimine önemli katkılar yapmış, Mary Anning’in hayatı farklı yönleriyle ele alınmıştır. Lyme Regis bölgesinden olan Anning’in paleontoloji alanındaki keşifleri 19. yüzyıldan eski çağlara eşsiz bir bağlantı sağlamıştır. Jeologlar bulunan fosillerini kullanarak daha önce bilinmeyen türleri açıklamış ve böylece bu keşiflerle jeoloji bilimindeki ilerlemeler hız kazanmıştır. Ayrıca Anning’in keşifleri, var olan bir neslin tükenmesi konusunda kritik kanıtlar haline gelmiştir. İngiltere’nin güneyinde bulunan Lyme Regis bölgesinde doğmuş olan Mary Anning’in biyografisi, yaptığı önemli keşifler, yaşadığı bölgenin özellikleri, dönemin önde gelen jeologları ile ilişkileri sırasıyla ele alınmıştır. Bunların yanında, yapılan keşiflere karşı İngiltere’de kilisenin konumu ve muhafazakarların bilimsel ilerlemeler karşısındaki tutumu da incelenmiştir.
Early reports of large bones from slate mines in the Middle Jurassic rocks at Stonesfield, Oxfordshire are reviewed, along with previously unpublished accounts of the workings. The material that formed the basis for publication of the genus Megalosaurus Buckland and Conybeare, 1824 is documented. The lectotype, a partial right lower jaw, was acquired by Sir Christopher Pegge, Dr Lees Reader in Anatomy at Christ Church, Oxford in 1797. The paralectotype sacrum was acquired by an Oxford undergraduate, Philip Barker Webb, sometime prior to 1814, as revealed by a letter to William Buckland from George Griffin, a Stonesfield well-sinker and mason, in which this specimen is mentioned. Another letter to Buckland from David Oliver, also of Stonesfield, records the discovery of further large bones, and annotations by Buckland indicate their purchase. The reptilian nature of the bones was confirmed during a visit to Oxford by the great French comparative anatomist Georges Cuvier in 1818. The presence of a giant reptile in the Stonesfield Slate became widely known in the English geological community. The six year delay between recognition and publication probably reflects Buckland's other commitments and priorities. Although Buckland largely disappears from the record at the end of 1849, we note one final reference to Megalosaurus in 1854, in the form of a letter to Buckland from Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, in which he requests dimensions of Megalosaurus bones to aid construction of the life-sized model of Megalosaurus that can still be seen at Crystal Palace Park in south London.
The real nature of marine reptile fossils found in England between the 1700s and the beginning of the 1900s remained enigmatic until Mary Anning’s incredible fossil discoveries and their subsequent study by eminent English and French scientists. In 1820, Georges Cuvier acquired several ichthyosaur specimens found by Mary Anning, now kept or displayed in the Palaeontology Gallery of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. Four years later, Cuvier obtained a plesiosaur specimen from Mary Anning, only the second ever discovered. Cuvier was fascinated by these fossils and their study allowed him to apply his comparative anatomical method and to support his catastrophist theory. We have re-examined these important specimens from a historical point of view, and describe them here taxonomically for the first time since Cuvier’s works. The Paris specimens belong to two different ichthyosaur genera (Ichthyosaurus and Leptonectes) and one plesiosaur genus (Plesiosaurus).
The history of the geosciences has largely been interpreted as a history of male scientists, but the inclusion of their social frame into historical research makes clear how women in various roles have participated in and shaped the history of geosciences.
The beginning of geological research in a modern sense occurred around 1800. In Germany, the early professionalization of geology and a rigid female gender model, idealizing female household duties and motherhood in a climate that was hostile to intellectual women, effectively precluded the collaboration of women, whereas in the largely non-professional culture of natural sciences in the United Kingdom, women were not excluded from participation.
In the United Kingdom at that time, wives, daughters and sisters, or even non-related female acquaintances, were an integral part of the infrastructure of British geology. They were often encouraged by leading scientists. As a result, there have been many female contributors, especially to palaeontology, in the early 19th century in the United Kingdom, forming a framework of assistants, secretaries, collectors, painters and field geologists to the leading figures in the geological sciences, thereby adding to and shaping their work.
Problems, however, arose, where women aspired to work on their own research programmes as independent female geologists.
Letters discovered in Normandy between Charles De Gerville (1769-1853), the French archaeologist and naturalist, and members of the Sowerby family concern his investigation of the strata, their fossils and the exchange of information, specimens and publications. Together with other archives at the Natural History Museum, London, the University of Bristol and the Bibliotheque Municipale de Cherbourg, they deal with his research during the early nineteenth century on the geology of the Cotentin (Cherbourg Peninsula). A brief resume of James Sowerby's early botanical interests is mentioned as the likely link for this relationship. Sowerby's Mineral conchology is believed to have had a major role in influencing De Gerville's research, particularly through its support of John Farey's advocacy of William Smith's methods. These letters, together with references to published accounts about geology at that time, reveal the difficulties under which this research was conducted. An account of De Gerville's early life is given to explain his links with English contemporaries, mention his characteristic qualities, or foibles, and assess the value of his contribution to geology.
When English marine Reptiles crossed the Channel. Mary Anning and Georges Cuvier, two actors of the discovery and study of Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs. From 1800 to 1824, Georges Cuvier succeeded in obtaining a great deal of informations, as well as documents, drawings, casts and original fossils related to marine Reptiles (Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs) from the Lower Jurassic (Lias) of Great Britain. He was completely informed about the discoveries made by Mary Anning. A great number of documents in the archives of the Museum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris show the importance and the quality of the scientific links that existed between France and Great Britain, in spite of the political vicissitudes between the two nations.
Engineers have always appreciated that a civil engineering project should be based on a clear understanding of the geomorphology of the site of the proposed works. It is an old ‘game’!
However, although it is good practice to take full account of the morphology and processes of the landscape during an investigation there is a tendency to restrict the work to basic mapping and identification of features rather than a true understanding of the site in space and time. Particular criticisms are that not enough attention is paid to the effects of landform change, the identification of inherited material conditions, the frequency and magnitude of processes and the nature of risk. Ways of improving the service are identified.
It is suggested that future work should be based on a full understanding of the conceptual basis for modern geomorphology. In the past thirty years there has been a revolution in the theoretical basis of the subject as well as a remarkable improvement in the technical capability. A major statement is therefore made on the nature of geomorphology and this is then summarized as a possible conceptual basis for application to engineering and planning.
The theme of the paper will be illustrated by a description of the Lyme Regis Environmental Improvements Scheme in West Dorset which is in the design stage and has been based on a full understanding of the geomorphology and geology of the area and the employment of a Geo-Team at all stages of the project.
- LOHRLI A.
- ROBERTS G.