Mary Anning: the fossilist as exegete.
The fossil hunter Mary Anning began collecting her 'curiosities' at a time when the age and nature of these relics from the past were little understood. Her spectacular discoveries of prehistoric marine reptiles, fossilized fish and a pterosaur touched off a geology-mania around the world. Two documents that have escaped previous analysis cast light on the religious journey of this remarkable woman. An eight-page manuscript at the Natural History Museum in London indicates a fascination with Benjamin West's painting 'Christ Rejected' and sophistication in Biblical interpretation; and a commonplace book at the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester tracks the shift in her Christian denomination from dissent to the Established Church, providing further indication of her spiritual depth - a piety that furthered, rather than hindered, her scientific progress.
Goodhue
Thomas W
TW
tgoodhue@suffolk.lib.ny.us
D002835:Christianity; D004739:England; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D010151:Paintings / Q000266:history*; D010163:Paleontology / Q000266:history*; D029181:Spirituality