Mary Anning, "the greatest fossilist the world ever knew," died on this day in 1847, aged only 47. Working girls and women were tolerated in the social lower classes, like professional fossil collector and dealer Mary Anning (1799-1847) of Lyme Regis (Dorset), but for upper-class women, engaging in field research was almost impossible. However upper-class women had to face inevitable troubles as soon as they went abroad. One major excuse to prevent women engaging in geology included the field gear, considered inappropriate for a women. The depiction by contemporary geologist Henry De la Beche (1796-1855) of Mary Anning gives us a good impression how a woman geologist dressed at these times.

Source: Forbes March 09, 2017 16:43 UTC