Mary Somerville
Scottish scientist, writer and polymath (1780-1872) · Scientists · Died at 91
Mary Somerville was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Mary Somerville is read about 209 times a day, in 50 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?People around Mary
Parents
Mary SomervillePartners
Children
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.
Correct this familyMedia & music
Photos 10
Vice-Admiral William Fairfax; Mary's father, painted in 1798
View of the City of Edinburgh by Alexander Nasmyth. Mary spent the winters in Edinburgh and attended Nasmyth's academy.
Commemorative medal of Mary Somerville
Title page to Mechanism of the Heavens (1831)
Cover page of On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences![In the revised third edition of Physical Geography, published in 1851, Somerville noted that her publisher had intended to include illustrations, but that this plan was abandoned since the Physical Atlas provided maps illustrating the "most important questions" of physical geography.[75] Geographical Distribution of Plants from Alexander Keith Johnston's 1848 The Physical Atlas.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Geographical_Distribution_of_Plants_1850_Alexander_Keith_Johnston.png/1280px-Geographical_Distribution_of_Plants_1850_Alexander_Keith_Johnston.png)
In the revised third edition of Physical Geography, published in 1851, Somerville noted that her publisher had intended to include illustrations, but that this plan was abandoned since the Physical Atlas provided maps illustrating the "most important questions" of physical geography.[75] Geographical Distribution of Plants from Alexander Keith Johnston's 1848 The Physical Atlas.
Somerville College Library, OxfordAwards
About this person
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
Deceased
Dates
Lived 1780 to 1872 · aged 91
