England's Jurassic Coast

Shelley Emling has written a book about a somewhat obscure figure in the history of science -- Mary Anning.

That obscurity is a condition Emling wants to remedy because she considers Anning important. It was Anning who in the early 19th century discovered along the coast of England, fossils of incredible creatures -- creatures no human had ever seen -- the first examples ever discovered of what have come to be known as dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs of course are astonishing creatures even today - imagine their impact as they first emerged into the hands of a woman who was scrounging for decorative seashells to sell to make some extra cash for her poor family in the 1820s! (Yes, she sold seashells by the seashore.)

Here is a link to a National Geographic article from 2001 about England's "Jurassic Coast," the stretch of southwestern coastline that Anning's work first brought to the attention of the scientific world.

And here is a link to information about Emling's book.