#mary somerville

[valkyries-things]

MARY SOMERVILLE // WRITER

“She was a Scottish science writer and polymath, Somerville was known as 'The Queen of Science'. She was nominated with Caroline Herschel as the first female members of the Royal Astronomical Society. Somerville was a suffragist and hers is the first signature on a huge petition organised by John Stuart Mill in 1866 to give women the right to vote. She owed much of her education to her father's library. She refused to take sugar in her tea as a protest about slavery. Among her works were On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences, Physical Geography and Molecular and Microscopic Science.”

[good-in-space]

[simply-sithel]

It is only well after I left college that I figured out the fun of finding reasons to 'research' things. The treasure hunt of digging for something not easily found online. I'm not creative (or curious) enough for this to come up often but am delighted when I get the chance to explore the depths of a library's offerings.

It's also rewarding to chase down a tight run of connections. This week's has been Dicken's Fair -> a musical about "The Naming of Uranus" -> reading about historical lady mathematicians -> visiting the Suzzallo library -> getting to use the Micro Print machine!

I'm perhaps known amongst some friends for my love of pushing the printing limits in making mini books. Imagine my awe and delight at getting to hold a micro print page! Now THIS would make a tiny book!

100 pages per sheet and absolutely not legible with the naked eye! Pages were brought into focus (on the digital screen) by panning the tray about. Not only easy to use, it made reading more fun! The book I wanted was actually missing the first sheet- thankfully there was a scanned copy I could read on a library machine -- interesting to see the aged pages in the 'digital' version, but I much preferred reading the micro print (even though it too was delivered to me 'digitally' at the end)

If I'd brought my Moment macro lens I could have taken some sweet photos (and read on my phone!) -- my new Pixel 8's macro mode just barely makes the text legible.

The initial bio on Mary Somerville I read mentioned that her writing was accessible and after reading a chunk of it for 20 minutes I heartily agree. Initially published in 1834, I'm sure there's a couple copies floating around out there (the library does have a physical copy, but it's at the off-site auxiliary and requires planning/advanced notice to get ahold of) -- makes me happy to now have a title to keep an eye out for in those rare bookshops/the collectables field.

[haggishlyhagging]

Mary Somerville did not just translate Laplace's work; she presented her 'own very valuable opinions' which were not only accepted, but praised (Osen, 1974, p. 108). Her book was entitled The Mechanisms of the Heavens, and, with aims that were very similar to those that Martineau was to adopt in her Illustrations, Somerville tried to explain her work in terms that were accessible to lay people. (The wonder of it is, of course, that Somerville was not dismissed as a ‘populariser’ but perhaps this is because so little attention has been paid to her and her work.) When today practitioners of women's studies insist that there must be no mystification, when they argue that all people are capable of knowing and understanding, they are not doing something new, but are continuing in a tradition established by such women as Mary Somerville, Frances Wright, and Harriet Martineau.

‘After the publication of The Mechanisms of the Heavens in 1832, she was raised to the first rank among scientific writers of the time’, says Osen (1974), and ‘distinctions were showered on her. The British Royal Society ordered her bust by Chantry to be placed in their great hall; a civil list pension was awarded to her; and her work became a required textbook for the honor students at Cambridge’ (p. 110). The irony of the latter was undoubtedly not wasted on Mary Somerville who was, of course, not permitted to attend Cambridge (women were not admitted there as full students until 1948, see Rita McWilliams-Tullberg, 1975) and who was well aware of the arguments put forward by men that women were not capable of serious study, particularly scientific study. Her ‘ideas’ in this case could be used by patriarchy, and were duly taken—without any modification to the basic thesis of the denial of women's intellectual ability.

-Dale Spender, Women of Ideas and What Men Have Done to Them

[doodleswiki]

5 years ago (Feb 2nd, 2020) - Celebrating Mary Somerville

Doodle was shown in: United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Lithuania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Israel, Cuba, U.S. Virgin Islands, Peru, Chile, Argentina, India, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.

[mariasmemo]

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

Observatory – Dec. 5, 1873

President Raymond,

            A plaster cast of the head of Mary Somerville by the sculptor Moe Donald, has been received as a donation to the Observatory.  It is not only a beautiful ornament in itself, but it has the additional value of being the gift of another remarkable woman Frances Power Cobbe of London.  I have supposed that some other notice should be taken of it, beside the unofficial letter which I shall write to Miss Cobbe.

            Maria Mitchell

Mary Somerville, as I have mentioned before, was one of Maria Mitchell’s heroes.  On her first trip to Europe in the 1850s, Maria met Somerville.  While she made comments regarding this in her journal, I can only image how she truly felt in her presence – something words on paper might not convey.  This plaster cast remained in a position of prominence in the observatory during the remainder of Maria’s time at Vassar.

She met Frances Power Cobbe, the donor of this bust, on her second trip to Europe in the summer of 1873.  Maria had a letter to deliver from Julia Ward Howe and also wished to leave Power Cobbe with a pamphlet regarding Vassar College – fundraising I am sure!�� She was worried she would not be at home but she was and Power Cobbe knew who Maria was straight away – she had been told Maria was in London!  After some initial misinformation, Maria came to know that Power Cobbe was indeed a powerful force among the Suffragettes.

JNLF

[factoides-yajan]

Factoide #4723

(#4723) El término 'científico/a' fue acuñado en 1830 para definir a Mary Somerville, dado que "hombre de ciencia" no se podía aplicar a ella por ser mujer y ella no solo era una física, química o geóloga... era las 3.

Tal era la admiración que se le tuvo, que a su muerte fue honrada como 'La Reina de la Ciencia del Siglo XIX'

[Publicado originalmente el 18 de Octubre del 2024]

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

From Edinburgh to Italy, take an animated tour of the life and work of Mary Somerville and find out how her knowledge and ambition led to her being the first person to be described as a scientist. (Animation by Zoe Buyers)

[elf-4-hire]

Going to uni and doing physics (specifically astronomy) means that you find out there are at LOT more women in STEM than highschool made you think.

[archives-of-genevieve]

InStyle Magazine | March 2011

Pages 326 - 341

[ch3rubd0lls]

Dissecting animals at 3 A.M. like the mad scientist I am

[magpieluiz]

I can’t tell you how homesick these make me.

[scotianostra]

The Scottish Polymath Mary Somerville was born at Jedburgh on 26th December, 1790.

Mary is one of those clever Scots who have been honoured with a Google Doodle, as seen in the second pic.

Born as Mary Fairfax into a distinguished family of humble means, she spent her early years helping her mother with chores around the house and enjoying nature in the family garden. At the age of 10, her father returned from overseas and decided to send her to a boarding school for a proper education.

It was at boarding school that her art teacher explained how the fundamentals of painting could be traced back to Euclid’s Elements of Geometry. After acquiring a copy of the classic book, Somerville delved into teaching herself astronomy and mathematics. Following years of independent learning and research, she went on to publish her own scientific papers and books.

In 1831, Somerville’s The Mechanism of the Heavens revolutionized the existing understanding of the solar system. This highly-praised essay laid the groundwork for her breakthrough book, The Connection of the Physical Sciences, which became among the best selling science books of the 19th century. Its third edition in 1836 provided the clues astronomer John Couch Adams needed to discover Neptune.

In Connection, Somerville revealed the underlying links between the different disciplines of physical science, on which a reviewer of the book first coined the word “scientist” to describe this multidisciplinary approach.

Not one to be pigeonholed, Somerville was also a vocal advocate for equal rights and the first person to sign the 1866 women’s suffrage petition.

In 2016, the Institute of Physics celebrated Sommerville’s innovative thinking, which paved the way for the ever-increasing number of women in STEM fields, by introducing the Mary Somerville Medal and Prize for scientists who engage the public through their work.

[bonaesperanza]

I think Lymond's early scenes with the Somervilles gain a lot more nuance and impact and emotional punch when you reread them.

Because, okay, on the first read they seem like kind, intelligent, respectable people who love each other very much - the warmth and connection and the instinctual wordless understanding between Gideon and Kate is immediately palpable - but at that point you don't really know enough about Francis to understand how they appear to him specifically. At this point he just seems like a callous cunt who takes pleasure in offending anyone who isn't Christian.

But think about it - artistic, intellectual boy grows up in a family full of constant acrimonious conflict (Mother bought a crate of books, Father burned it, they fought over it, Father drank...), his interests cnstantly belittled as too soft and his things smashed against walls until he learns to be vicious enough to defend himself. Father seems resentful about his very existence, angelic little sister has suicidal tendencies, Mother loves him but can be a manipulative bitch. He's a POW at sixteen, then groomed by an older woman, then sent to a probable death by that same woman. He's accused of treason over an incident that killed the sister, spends years as a slave suffering through every kind of abuse imaginable, tries coming back home but Father kicks him out because he doesn't believe him.

Ends up running a band of outlaws and considering how he later admits to hating the St. Mary's lifestyle - where his officers are all middle class intellectuals handpicked by himself - because he misses his music and his clever conversation and being friends with women? Can you imagine how he must have felt with the outlaws, where he, who used to read books on ethics for fun, had to constantly keep them entertained so they don't rape and pillage their way across their own countryside?

And then he goes to Flaw Valleys and sees a music room? And one of the first things to come out of Kate's mouth is how must not get many opportunities to play the harpischord with his kind of lifestyle, and how he must miss it a lot? She has no idea how much she's hit it right on the head.

And then he gets to know them, and they're... probably his Platonic ideal of a perfect family? He probably didn't think families like that existed outside of his own imagination (just compare them to every other family we see in the series). And then compare them to Francis's own interests and personality.

The husband is an accomplished musician, and the wife adores him for it and begs him to play every opportunity she gets. When he's in a mood, she knows how to draw him out of it skillfully and subtly and wittily and without being too intrusive. He, in turn, knows her well enough to anticipate her every need and delights in making her happy and giving her everything he can. There's palpable love and respect and understanding between them - they seem to understand each other wordlessly. They're both kind and empathetic and well-educated and keep themselves up-to-date on current events, on which they have nuanced and insightful opinions beyond picking a side. The wife is a master of witty conversation and enjoys and can keep up with Francis's own barbed back-and-forth. The husband and Francis come to an immediate understanding over politics despite technically being on opposite sides of a very complicated war. The husband's managed to keep his hands clean throughout it. Their daugher is already growing up to be a person of intellect, talent, and bold personality, because she's growing up surrounded with love and care and support and books and music and opportunities to be carefree and make messes and run around with the village boys.

He's barely twenty and he's been to hell and back so many times that he feels subhuman, and these picture perfect people take him in even though he's done nothing but treat them like shit, and they offer him their kindness and care and support and try to help him every way they can despite having zero reason to trust him or like him.

Can you imagine the kind of pedestal he'd put them on? It's no wonder he keeps coming back and maintains that friendship through everything. They're like the only stars he can see from his pitch-black gutter.

And I think this makes all his hand wringing over Philippa a lot more understandable, especially considering how he now sees himself as subhuman in ten additional ways after the extra trauma of the intervening years? On the first read you kind of just want to smack him because he's being so unreasonable, but really at that point you've spent so much time in Philippa's head and so little in Francis's that she's just Philippa to you (despite all the admiration she gets), while Francis is the one everyone is constantly panting over.

But to him she's part of a family so perfect and loving and healthy and aligned with all his ideals that he can't quite bring himself to believe that not only do they exist but they also like his miserable self, a family to whom he owes a great personal debt he can never repay (as he tells Kate in RC) and Philippa's the brightest and most impressive and accomplished member of that family. She is on a pedestal so high there's literally nothing he can do to measure up to what she means to him short of becoming a god.

And then consider how he later thinks that she's broken herself beyond repair over him. They're the only pure and flawless thing he knows of, the literal embodiment of how he dreams of people being in an ideal world, and he's destroyed it.

[theaskew]

Mary Kocol (American, b. 1962), Christmas Tree, Somerville, Massachusetts, 1999. Chromogenic print, 95.9 × 65.1 cm. | 37 3/4 × 25 5/8 in. (Source: Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA)

[words-and-coffee]

So this last year, though I didn't read too much fiction, I read a lot of poetry, most of which was from poets I had never read before. Here are my favourite poetry books of those I read in 2023 (trigger warnings I noticed in the read more).

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón (5/5) An intimate, beautifully sincere look into a vulnerable space of life, loss, love, and lust. Limón expresses herself with exquisite language, without the aftertaste of pretence. I had never read Limón's work previously, but I will be looking at her back catalogue.

C+nto & Othered Poems by Joelle Taylor (4.5/5) I had never read Joelle Taylor before; however, it became evident almost immediately that she is an extremely skilled and experienced poet and wordsmith. Taylor's writing is intentional and powerful, with times of both great beauty and brutality. The collection itself is centred around reflecting on butch counterculture.

Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised by Alice Te Punga Somerville (4.5/5) Always Italicised is a wonderful collection centred around a visually powerful concept of italicising foreign (non-native) words following the suggestion that foreign (non-English) words should be italicised in a fantastic act of malicious compliance. The primary focus is on colonisation and Te Punga Somerville's experience as a Māori writer and scholar in Aotearoa. Reflecting on the loss of language, the stigma and the historical oppression that Maori people have experienced/continue to experience as a consequence of colonisation.

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi (4.5/5) This book has my favourite title of the year and the poetry lives up to it. My previous experience with Choi was in her spoken word work and I found this collection just as enjoyable, I listened to her narration on audiobook while reading along and found the poems to be beautifully reflective, personal, and rich in atmosphere.

Flèche by Mary Jean Chan (4/5) Chan's short collection is complex and interesting, she mainly reflects on her relationship with her mother, and her experiences as a queer person of colour. The collection feels raw in a beautiful and occasionally painful way.

The Trees Witness Everything by Victoria Chang (4/5) Another banger of a title. I really loved the imagery in Chang's writing. She writes with intent and skill which is obvious from the get-go. While I struggled to connect with this collection on an emotional level I still was in awe of it on a technical level.

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness Moderate: Animal death, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Racism Minor: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

C+nto & Othered Poems by Joelle Taylor Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Violence Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Always Italicise: How to Write While Colonised by Alice Te Punga Somerville Graphic: Colonisation Moderate: Racism Minor: Miscarriage

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, War, Racism, Violence, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Colonisation Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Suicide, Rape, and Police brutality

Flèche by Mary Jean Chan Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Racism Moderate: Mental illness and Self harm

The Trees Witness Everything by Victoria Chang Moderate: Death