ANNING

anning, mary (1799-1847), english fossil-collector, the daughter of richard anning, a cabinet-maker, was born at lyme regis in may 1799. her father was one of the earliest collectors and dealers in fossils, obtained chiefly from the lower lias in that famous locality. when but a child in 1811 she discovered the first specimen of _ichthyosaurus_ which was brought into scientific notice; in 1821 she found remains of a new saurian, the _plesiosaurus_ and in 1828 she procured, for the first time in england, remains of a pterodactyl (_dimorphodon_). she died on the 9th of march 1847.