it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. that’s right, it’s time to talk about mary somerville.
somerville was born in scotland in 1780. despite her parent and nurse’s best attempts to keep her in the house, she spent much of her childhood wandering the country, at home, she devoted herself to reading the books in her father’s library. studying animals and collecting shells. at school, she was taught basic english and french, but learning latin was saved for the boys, so somerville decided to teach herself latin, and assisted by her uncle, she taught herself sufficient latin to read the latin books in her father’s library. while abroad with her aunt and uncle, she gained access to books on elementary and algebra and geometry, sparking her interest in mathematics. as if latin wasn’t enough, she proceeded to teach herself greek as well, so she could read authors like herodotus and euclid. all the while she maintained the image of a sweet and polite daughter, and was nicknamed the “rose” of her hometown.
in 1804, she met and married lieutenant samuel grieg, with whom she had two children. grieg did not approve of women studying academics and discouraged somerville from studying mathematics, so she switched to lessons in french. in 1807, grieg died. somerville promptly moved back to scotland and continued studying mathematics, using her inheritance from grieg to fund her interests. she began solving problems proposed in mathematical journals, and had five of her solutions published in the mathematical repository under the pseudonym “a lady”. in 1812, she married william somerville, who unlike grieg took pride in his wife’s academic achievements.
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at the age of 33, somerville bought herself a library of scientific books, applying herself to the study of authors such as laplace, euler, lagrange, and poisson. she extended her studies into astronomy, chemistry, geography, microscopy, and electricity and magnetism. in 1826, somerville published her first paper, an exploration of the relationship between light and magnetism.
in 1827, somerville was asked to prepare a translation of laplace’s celestial mechanics. just like lovelace, somerville far outshined her job as translator. she prepared an extended version of the book called mechanism of the heavens, including a standalone exposition that explained some of the mathematics behind the workings of the solar system. the book was an instant hit and became a textbook at the university of cambridge.
somerville’s next book, the connection of the physical sciences, was an extensive summary of astronomy, physics, geography, and meteorology. she wrote ten editions over the course of her life, constantly updating the book’s content. in the third edition, she noted that difficulties in calculations involving the planet uranus may point to a yet undiscovered planet, an observation that contributed to the later discovery of neptune. in 1835, she began receiving a pension from the british crown for her work, and was named the first female member of the royal astronomical society along with caroline herschel. she went on to write physical geography, a book that discusses land and water formations, factors affecting weather like light and electricity, plants and mammals, and a philosophical discussion of human race (all in one book!). for this, she was awarded the victoria gold medal of the royal geographical society.
somerville is an impressive scientist on her own, but is even more so when you realize that almost all her scientific knowledge was self-taught. she was discouraged by a variety of people, including her family and her first husband, but persevered nonetheless. despite having minimal support, she became one of the most brilliant scientists of her time with nothing but her own mind and a dedication to the sciences.
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"In [astronomy] we perceive the operation of a force which is mixed up with everything that exists in the heavens or on earth; which pervades every atom, rules the motions of animate and inanimate beings, and is as sensible in the descent of a rain-drop as in the falls of Niagara; in the weight of the air, as in the periods of the moon."
-Mary Somerville
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(written 3/22/21)
