I recently learned about Mary Anning (1799-1847). She discovered a passion in fossil hunting and selling them. She discovered many new species of dinosaurs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning). She was a big influence in science term. She was on the field finding fossils. Of course, at the time, she was not able to get rich with her job. She would had deserved to become a scientist by her contribution to science.
How many people are under the radar in the scientific field? Her contribution was mainly known in the paleontology field, even if she was not a scientific herself. Beside that, no one put her in history classes. I am sure that even today, there are people who don't know about her. Well, I was part of that group until recently. This is this kind of tidbit of history that get people interested into history. It is relatable, it is a rag to influence story. I guess she must had influence. She could select fossils that she find to the right buyer. I am sure she was not stupid, especially with time. As she was searching for fossil, she could see what is common and what was not that common. She was the one getting her hand dirty, after all. She was seeing all the fossils on the ground.
It is the kind of discovery that I like to make. It gives more life into history. I don't know much about history of science but this one was giving an extra credit on her. I start to believe that it's not all great discovery that was made without influence. It only need a little spark, be it a person or an object brought by a person.
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