Scots Scientist Mary Somerville Inspires Google Doodle

Today’s Google Doodle is attributed to Scots scientist Mary Somerville, who was a great mathematician, astronomer and geographer. The illustration of one of the greatest intellectual writers of the 19th century would appear on Google for 24 hours.

Google wants to commemorate her contribution to science but it isn’t the first time that Mary Somerville is recognized for her work. A few years ago, her illustration appeared on the new Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note.

Mary Somerville life and achievements

Born in 1780 in Jedburgh, she was a good learned from her childhood. But her parents discouraged her from studying because they thought that study would kill her. Mary Somerville had a sister who died due to some illness but her parents blamed the death of Mary’s sister on studies.

Fighting against all odds, Mary Somerville continued her study. Her greatest contribution was a detailed study of the solar system where she noticed Neptune as a small wobble in the orbit of Uranus. Following the study, she was made a proud member of the Royal Astronomical Society jointly with Caroline Herschel.

Mary Somerville was also a huge advocate of women’s rights and liberty. She advocated women’s right to study and vote. It is due to her social work in the field of women’s liberty that the women-only Somerville College Oxford was named after her in 1872.

Google Doodle

Google makes temporary changes on its homepage to mark special events and commemorate people for their distinguished work. It has honored American musician BB King, Austrian Nobel Prize winner Bertha von Suttner and French sculptor Camille Claudel.

Source: https://bbc.in/391pPYt

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