Mary Somerville

In the age when science was perceived as a male domain, Mary Somerville became both the leading woman scientist of her day and an integral part of the British scientific community. Her scientific writings contributed to one of the most important cultural projects of Victorian Britain: establishing science as a distinct, integral, and unifying element of culture. Her works reflect both the power of science to capture imaginations and the influence of cultural factors in the development of science. They show us what one example of a particularly lucid and illuminated mind can accomplish, and provide a window into one of the most formative periods in the evolution of modern scientific culture. For these reasons, I believe that she should be considered during rethinking the story of women's participation in science.