Queen of Science

The complete memoirs of the 19th century scientist, public intellectual, and first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Born in Jedburgh in 1780, Mary Fairfax was the daughter of a captain in Lord Nelson’s navy. In common with most girls of her time and station, she received an education that prized gentility over ability. Nevertheless, she taught herself algebra in secret, and made her reputation in celestial mechanics with her 1831 translation of Laplace’s Mécanique céleste as The