Mary Somerville December, 26th 1780 – November, 28th 1872

“Queen of Nineteenth Century Science”"

Childhood:

Mary was born at the manse in Jedburgh, Scotland the home of her mother's sister Martha Charters, wife od Dr. Thomas Somerville.

She learned needlework and piano while studying painting with the artist Alexander Nasmyth.

Hobbies:

Adulthood:In 1804 Somerville was married to Captain Samuel Greig.Mary and Samuel had two sons, Woronzow and William George.

In 1812 she was remarried to Dr. William Somerville.The couple had three daughters and a son.

Other than science Mary was interested in Math and Astronomy.

Scientific Contributions:

Mary Somerville published her first paper The magnetic properties of the violet rays of the solar spectrum in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in 1826.

She invented the commonly used variables from algebraic math.

She began her last scientific work, On Molecular and Microscopic Science, when she was 89, and completed the book shortly before her death at the age of 92.

Awards: Mary received a silver medal for her solution of one of the problems in Mathematical Repository in 1811.

In 1835, she and Caroline Herschel became the first women members of the Royal Astronomical Society.

In 1870 she received the Victoria Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society.

Change the World:

In her writings Somerville predicted the existence of an unseen planet beyond the orbit of Uranus.

John Adams (1819-1892) later calculated the exact position of the planet (Neptune) on the basis of Somerville's prediction.

Somerville later predicted a ninth planet (Pluto), which remained undiscovered until 1930

Create Meaning:Mary Somerville was a strong supporter of women's education and women's suffrage.

We choose this scientist because she changed the world for women.

We learned that during these times it was difficult for girls to receive a good education but with determination she learned about the world alone.

Somerville College in Oxford was named after her in 1879 because of her strong support for women's education.

Quotes:

"It is not always possible to come to an agreement before one goes to sleep but it is possible to go to sleep in a loving and peaceable manner knowing that the problem can be worked out in love at a later time."

"Television won't last. It's a flash in the pan."

"I have 92 years ... my memory for ordinary events is weak but not for mathematics and science experiences. I'm still able to read books on higher algebra for four or five hours in the morning, and even solve problems”

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