Anning is credited with discovering dinosaur bones and the earliest example of a marine reptile.
However, her work went beyond finding fossils. She also discovered coprolites, which are layers of fossil dung.
Her discoveries are not fully known, but her discoveries have paved the way for our understanding of dinosaurs and the evolution of life.
Anning discovered a number of fossils, including the first pterosaur skeleton and 5.2m (17ft) ichthyosaur skeleton. These discoveries helped make the world's first records of marine reptiles and led to new discoveries.
While the Anning family lived hand-to-mouth, they found small fossils under the cliffs and sold them to tourists.
Their discoveries were so significant that Joseph Anning and Mary Anning were paid handsomely and the fossils they found became the basis for their first scientific paper on ichthyosaurus.
Mary Anning was born into a working class family in Lyme Regis in 1799.
Her discoveries helped make a lasting impact in the field of paleontology, and even today Anning is being recognized by scientific circles.
Mary Anning had a keen eye for unique specimens and even built the first complete Plesiosaurus and Pterosaur skeletons.
She was also an avid reader of scientific journals and was very critical of their findings.
Ultimately, her work earned her recognition from the Royal Society.
She survived a lightning strike while she was only fifteen months old, but her life ended tragically at age 47.