Where did mary somerville live

Her discussion of a hypothetical planet perturbing Uranus led Adams to his investigation. Somerville College in Oxford was named after her.

Mary somerville family

View twelve larger pictures. Mary Fairfax was born in the church manse in Jedburgh, the home of her mother's sister Martha Charters and Martha's husband Thomas Somerville. Mary's father was a naval officer, later Vice-Admiral Sir William George Fairfax, who was at sea at the time of her birth. Mary's mother had visited London from where her husband embarked on a long sea voyage.

Margaret Fairfax broke her journey north at Jedburgh where Mary was born. The family home was in Burntisland in the county of Fife, Scotland. Mary was the fifth of seven children but three died very young. Of the four remaining children, Mary was brought up with her brother who was three years older than she was.

Mary somerville children

A sister was born when Mary was seven, and a second brother when she was ten. The two brothers were given a good education but, in keeping with the ideas of the time, little need was seen to educate girls so Mary's parents saw no need to provide an education for their daughter. As a young child what little education she did receive was from her mother who taught her to read but it was not considered necessary to teach her to write.

When Mary was ten years old she was sent to Miss Primrose's boarding school for girls in Musselburgh a few miles east of Edinburgh on the Firth of Forth. Burntisland and Musselburgh are on opposite sides of the Firth of Forth, Burntisland on the north, Musselburgh on the south.