Mary Somerville, Mechanism of the Heavens, (1831)

Mary Somerville (1780 – 1872) was a Scottish scientist, mathematician and writer. Although she received a minimal education as a child, she seized on the opportunities to learn that presented themselves, learning Latin from an uncle and studying geometry and algebra in secret. She continued her studies into adulthood, and together with the support of her second husband, Dr William Somerville, became acquainted with significant figures in the world of science. Although women’s presence in the fields of science and mathematics was relatively unusual during the Victorian era, the term ‘scientist’ was in fact coined specifically to describe Somerville, in a review of one of her books by philosopher William Whewell.

Mechanism of the heavens was Somerville’s first published book. In the 1820s she was approached by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge to produce a condensed version of Laplace’s five volume Traité de mécanique celeste (Treatise of celestial mechanics), as part of the Society’s campaign to make information available to those who may not have been able to receive a formal education. The endeavour took her three years, although the finished work was considered too lengthy to be affordable to the working classes. It was passed over to publisher John Murray and published in 1831. The work solidified her reputation in the field of science. Mary Somerville and Caroline Hershel were the first women to be elected as honorary members of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1835.

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