Somerville, Mary

Mary (1780-1872), an English writer on astronomy. Her education, while probably more thorough than that of the average woman of her time, would today be considered elementary, and it was not until after she left school that she secretly mastered algebra and Euclid. Later, she attained proficiency in the higher mathematics for which she developed great aptitude. In this she was assisted by her second husband, Dr. William Somerville, an inspector of the army medical board. While on a visit to the Continent she attracted general attention among scientific men by reason of her attainments-among others the astronomer Laplace, whose Mecanique Celeste she had translated at the request of Lord Brougham. She popularized the form of this monumental work, made it familiar to the British public, and at the same time won fame for herself. She was elected to membership in the Royal Astronomical Society, an honor rarely bestowed on a woman, and was later granted a pension of $1,500 a year by the government. Other works by Mrs. Somerville are Connection of the Physical Sciences, Physical Geography, and Molecular and Microscopic Science. An interesting volume because of the insight it gives into her character was her personal recollections published in her old age. "Much of the popularity of her writings," says Britannica, "is due to their clear, crisp style, and the underlying enthusiasm for her subject which pervades them."