No mention of famous members of Burntisland Kirk can be made without relating some details of the life of Mary Somerville. Of all the famous personalities associated with the Kirk there are probably more practical mementos of her life than anyone else. Outside of her famous publications, present day reminders are Somerville College. Oxford, Somerville House. Brisbane (High School for Girls, Queensland, Australia), the house in which she was brought up in Burntisland, her tomb in Naples, and at one time a plaque at 12 Hanover Square, London, a building which has now been demolished.

In connection with the plaque at 12 Hanover Square, an interesting letter of 25th May, 1976. from the Greater London Council has arrived in Burntisland after a request as to the whereabouts of the plaque. A report was enclosed of a meeting of London County Council when Mr G. L. Gomme, Clerk to the Council, submitted to the Historical Records and Library Sub-Committee on 16th January, 1909, details of Mary Somerville's life. The committee were not sure how to describe her 'Astronomer,' 'Scientist', 'Mathematician', so the clerk had to research her life history. A quote from the 'Dictionary of National Biography' — 'Her grasp of scientific truth in all branches of knowledge, combined with an exceptional power of exposition, made her the most remarkable woman of her generation. "The recommendation was to describe her as 'scientific writer.'

Mary Fairfax (Somerville) was born in Jedburgh simply because her mother could not reach Burntisland in time after a journey into England. From infancy till she was aged 32, Mary was a member of the congregation. Her grandfather was Town Clerk of Burntisland for 47 years and her father, Vice-Admiral Sir William Fairfax, was a Bailie in Burntisland for many years.

ATTENDANCE AT THE KIRK

Mary lived just about 50 yards from the Kirk and whilst a juvenile ploy in these days was to pass by the gate of the Kirk and slip along the Scholars' Brae down to the beach, Mary was always found out Her uncle, the Rev. James Wemyss, was the local minister and on his weekly visits to the Fairfax house the attendance at the Kirk was a major subject. When Mary first attended church, she sat in a seat in the gallery behind the panel which has the sign of the Bakers. In later life when she was first married, she occupied a seat under the gallery where the Cordiners' coat of arms is affixed to the wall.

The work of Mary Somerville can be reflected in the manner of a large stone dropped into a placid lake when the ripples extend far and wide. Although Mary died in Naples on 29th November, 1872, the reflection of her life's work still provides interest for present day scholars. In recent years Elizabeth C. Patterson. Professor of Physical Science, Albertus Magnus College, USA, has written many articles about the life of Mary. One. with a mass of detail, was published in the British Journal for the History of Science in December, 1969; a second from the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, June, 1974, and a later one from the Dictionary of Scientific Biography.  To commemorate the centenary of the death of Maty, Oxford University marked the event with a dinner, when representatives of the family descendants were honoured guests along with people from around the world.

In Brisbane, Somerville House held a commemoration week-end on 6th, 7th, 8th October, 1972. On that occasion there was an opening and dedication of the New Library by Mr D. M. Cameron, M.P. A letter from the headmaster of that time, Mr C. R. Wells, dated 17th October, 1972, said: "Thank you again for your detailed correspondence concerning our Mary Somerville. Since you last wrote, we have built a new library at the school and the old library has been made into our archives and Mary Somerville's picture is standing there." It is interesting to note that while all these people in America, Australia and England have found time to be interested in the life of Mary Somerville and are doing things to perpetuate her memory, one finds it difficult to arouse interest outside this district. In 1975, International Women's Year, attempts to get Scottish national daily newspapers based in Edinburgh and Glasgow to show- some interest in the memory of Mary met with no success. It is to be hoped that we in Burntisland and district never forget that the wee lassie with a broad Scottish accent who attended St Columba's Kirk for many years started a crusade on the behalf of all women that spread out to the ends of the earth.

Mary Fairfax was first married to Samuel Greig, Commissioner of the Russian Navy and Russian Consul for Britain. Her second husband was Dr William Somerville, son of the minister of Jedburgh and Mary's own cousin. She published her first book 'The Mechanism of the Heavens' in 1831. Practically the whole edition of 750 copies was sold at Cambridge University. As a result, she was elected an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London and her bust placed in the Great Hall with the celebrated Chantrey as the sculptor.

The King granted her a pension of £300 per annum to encourage others to follow the bright example she had set. She published other works — "The Connection of the Physical Sciences", "Physical Geography" and "Molecular and Microscopic Science," all of whkh had many editions and were printed in various languages.

For her work was honoured by Scientific Societies all over the world, one in Florence, Italy, being the first gold medal awarded by the Geographical Society specially coined with her name on the reverse. In a book "A Somervillian Looks Back," Vera Farnell, a former Vice-Principal, French tutor and Dean, gives some of her impressions of life at Somerville College. Oxford University, and some of its history.

Miss Farnell presents Somerville's conception of itself as a place of religion, learning and education, and is based upon an idea of intellectual integrity, and independence, a wide toleration and a liberal attitude to innovation. Somerville College produced some of the most famous women emancipators and it was a great day for the students in 1920 when women were first admitted to degrees and University privileges. Under Dr Miss Emily Penrose, in 1920, it was assessed that Somerville had produced a list of distinguished scholars, writers and artists, of college principals, I university professors, readers and | lecturers, headmistresses and teachers of all kinds, public servants, medical and scientific women, of missionaries and pioneers of colonial enterprise. Under a hard-working Committee. Somerville Hall was opened in 13th October, 1879, with twelve students. The Hall was named after Mary Somerville, a distinguished Victorian scientist and astronomer. The Somerville family allowed the Hall to take her name and to adopt the family coat of arms. The crescent moon and stars with the motto "Donee Rursus Impleat Orbem." The crest belonged also to King Henry II of France.

The first building was Walter Manor which was purchased for £600 for a five-year lease. This house had been built in 1826. Additions later were the West Building in 1885. a gymnasium in 1890. a hostel in 1897 and a library in 1904. Later extensions were the Maitland Building in 1912 and the Penrose Building in 1927. Most of the buildings were used as a hospital in the First World War (1914-18) and on 6th July, 1929. Somerville celebrated its jubilee with 500 guests representing every Somerville generation from its beginning to its 50th year. And all this arose from the ideas of Mary Somerville who in her youth thought it unjust that women should have been given the desire for knowledge if it were wrong to acquire it.

Extract from Dr Brigitte Stenhouse

PhD Thesis

To read a detailed study of the life and works of Mary Sommerville, click the link below.

https://oro.open.ac.uk/78959/

Mary Somerville (1780–1872) was unequivocally one of the best-known mathematicians in Britain during the first half of the nineteenth-century. Barred from receiving a formal education, she tenaciously pursued her studies through independent reading and the solving of problems published in the Question-and-Answer sections of journals. Through her deft navigation of polite society in Edinburgh, London, and Paris, she was able to build a reputation for herself as an expert in analytical mathematics, especially as practiced and taught in France. At a time when British mathematics was widely perceived to be in decline, Somerville positioned herself within a network of mathematicians who saw the adoption of analytical methods as the way to reform. Moreover, she was able to leverage her knowledge of this esoteric and highly valued mathematics to build a successful career as an author of scientific books which lasted over forty years. However, the type of books that Somerville wrote and published, especially as regarding mathematical content, was heavily influenced by her desire and need to make a profit from her writing. This thesis presents the first scholarly treatment of Somerville's path as a mathematician, broadly conceived to include her engagement with scientific society alongside her written works and provides new insight into the circulation of French analysis in early-nineteenth-century Britain.