Amazing Facts About Mary Anning – The First Female Paleontologist

#3 She Once Found A Dead Body That Shook Her

A young Mary Anning, aged 14, was on the beach hunting fossils when she discovered a dead body. The remains were of a young woman who was aboard a ship that had sunk.

The body was among the 100 people who had died on the sailing boat the same year in 1815.

The woman’s corpse was taken to church and kept there until the next of kin came to claim it. Discovering the dead body of a young woman had deeply affected Mary.

She visited the church every day with fresh flowers to lay on the body.