Do you know who Mary Anning is? I did not at first,but now I do. Mary Anning was a paleontologist, which is someone who studies dinosaur bones and finds the bones. She first started by starting out with her dad, then she was with her brother (Joseph) and found the bones of a Ichthyosaur. Believe it or not she was the first female paleontologist. Crazy right! Mary Anning found many fossils, and made a big difference in the world. Where was she born, and how long did she live? Mary Anning was born on May 21, 1799-1847. She lived in the Southern Shores of Great Britain. She did her work in an area full of fossils from the jurassic period. Mary Anning was inspired by her father to start fossil finding. Her father then died in 1810. Her family sold fossils so they could have enough money to live, and after that the mother gave up the business so nowMary was in charge. Her brother Joseph, who had helped her find the ichthyosaur, had committed to a different career so he was no longer a fossil finder. Whenever their father died the family was left in debt, and had a hard time getting money. Mary’s mom believed that Mary was so smart because when she was little there was a thunderstorm and she was the only one who lived out of her babysitter and other kids. Was Mary Anning ever acknowledged? At first Mary was not even acknowledged in the newspaper because fossil finding was only meant for men. The men then decided that people should know about her discoveries, but they still did not end up giving her credit. In 1819 she finally got her ichthyosaur in the British Museum. What are some interesting facts about her? Some interesting facts are she learned how to read and write at her Sunday school class, which I think is really cool. Mary Anning also wrote a book, and she also discovered the ichthyosaur and the plesiosaurus. The bones that she found she sold them to tourist who come in the summer. It is amazing how she was only 12 years old and found almost a whole dinosaur, I would never be able to do that. Mary Anning was a special women. She made fossil finding for women possible, and without her we would not have known about the ichthyosaur or the plesiosaurus. Anning lived from 1799-1847, when she died of breast cancer. Mary Anning made a big difference in the world, and discovered many fossils.