- Article (book excerpt)
- 900 words
- Level: all audiences
Mary Somerville was born in Jedburgh, Scotland in 1780. She initially followed the expectations of her well-connected family in following social conventions, but after the death of her first husband in 1804, she had the freedom and the financial resources to pursue scientific knowledge. She purchased a library full of scientific books and educated herself to the point where she went on to become the “Queen of Science” in nineteenth-century Europe. She even played a role in the discovery of Neptune. Her story is told often, but not always with mention of her faith.
Her faith was discussed by her daughter, in the closing of her Personal Recollections from Early Life to Old Age of Mary Somerville. One of the things that Somerville was most grateful to God for was that she retained her mathematical skills until her death at age 91.
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