Mary Ward (27 April 1827 – 31 August 1869) was an Irish amateur scientist who was killed when she fell under the wheels of an experimental steam car built by her cousins. As the event occurred in 1869, she is the world's first known motor vehicle accident victim. This incident occurred 17 years prior to the 1886 invention of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is popularly regarded as the first automobile, neglecting the prior history of steam-powered motorcars.

Early life

During the 19th century, when most women had little encouragement for, or apparent interest in, a science education, Mary was unusual. She was born Mary King in Ballylin, near Ferbane

Ferbane

Ferbane is a small town on the north bank of the River Brosna in County Offaly, Ireland, between Birr and Athlone at the junction of the N62 National secondary road and the R436 regional road...

, Co. Offaly on 27 April 1827, the youngest child of Henry and Harriett King. She and her sisters were educated at home, as were most girls at the time. However, her education was slightly different from the norm because she was of a renowned scientific family. She was interested in nature from an early age, and by the time she was three years old she was collecting insects.

Interests

Mary King became a keen stargazer, like her cousin William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, Knight of the Order of St Patrick was an Irish astronomer who had several telescopes built. His 72-inch telescope "Leviathan", built 1845, was the world's largest telescope until the early 20th century.-Life:He was born in Yorkshire, England, in the city of...

. He was building the Leviathan of Parsonstown

Leviathan of Parsonstown

Leviathan of Parsonstown is the unofficial name of the Rosse six foot telescope. This is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 in aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100 in Hooker Telescope in 1917...

, a reflecting telescope

Reflecting telescope

A reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from...

 with a six-foot mirror which remained the world’s largest until 1917. Mary often visited him at his home and, as she was a good artist, sketched each stage of the process. These sketches, along with photographs made by Parson’s wife Mary Rosse

Mary rosse

Mary Rosse, Countess of Rosse , was a British amateur astronomer and pioneering photographer. She was one of the early practitioners of making photographs from waxed-paper negatives.- Life :...

, were used recently to help restore the telescope.

Mary also drew insects, and the astronomer James South

James South

Sir James South was a British astronomer.He helped found the Astronomical Society of London, and it was under his name as president of the society from 1831 to 1832 that a petition was successfully submitted to obtain a royal charter in 1831, whereupon it became the Royal Astronomical...

 observed her doing so one day. She was using a magnifying glass to see the tiny details, and her drawing so impressed him that he immediately persuaded her father to buy her a microscope

Microscope

A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...

. For Mary, this was the beginning of a lifelong passion. She began to read everything she could find about microscopy

Microscopy

Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...

, and taught herself until she had an expert knowledge. She made her own slides from slivers of ivory, as glass was difficult to obtain, and prepared her own specimens. The physicist David Brewster

David Brewster

Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA FSSA MICE was a Scottish physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, writer and university principal.-Early life:...

 asked her to make his microscope specimens, and used her drawings in many of his books and articles.

Distinctions

Universities and most societies would not accept women, but Mary obtained information any way she could. She wrote frequently to scientists, asking them about papers they had published. During 1848, Parsons was made President of the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

, and visits to his London home meant that she met many scientists.

She was one of only three women on the mailing list for the Royal Astronomical Society

Royal Astronomical Society

The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...

. (Of the others, one was Queen Victoria and the other was Mary Somerville

Mary Somerville

Mary Fairfax Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged...

, a scientist for whom Somerville College at Oxford University was named.)

Marriage

On 6 December 1854, Mary married Henry William Crosbie Ward (5th Viscount Bangor) of Castleward, County Down. They had three sons and five daughters.

Publications

When Mary Ward wrote her first book, 'Sketches with the microscope', she apparently believed that no one would print it because of her gender or lack of academic credentials. She published 250 copies of it privately, and several hundred handbills were distributed to advertise it. The printing sold during the next few weeks, and this was enough to make a London publisher take the risk and contract for future publication. The book was reprinted eight times between 1858 and 1880.

She wrote two other books, one of which was a beginner’s guide to astronomy, and several articles. She illustrated all her own work and many books and papers by other scientists.

Death

Mary Ward has the distinction of being the first fatality of a car accident

Car accident

A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...

. William Parsons’ sons, as keen on mechanics as their father, had built a steam-powered automobile. It was thought at the time that steam transport would be developed greatly during the near future (this was true for trains, but did not in fact become true for cars due to the development of petroleum engines). Steam cars were unreliable, and they did too much damage to the already uneven roads. In 1865 the Red Flag Act imposed a speed limit of four miles per hour for the countryside and two miles per hour in towns. This effectively ended the popularity of motorcars, but some enthusiasts still had one, often home made, like the Parsons’ vehicle. On 31 August 1869, Mary and her husband Henry Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor

Henry Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor

Henry William Crosbie Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor DL, JP , styled The Honourable from birth until 1881, was an Irish peer, Conservative politician and soldier.-Background:...

 were travelling in it with the Parsons boys and their tutor, when Mary was thrown from the car on a bend in the road. She fell under its steel wheel and died almost instantly. When a doctor, who lived near the scene of the accident, arrived within moments, he found her cut, bruised and bleeding from the ears. The fatal injury was a broken neck.

Mary’s microscope, accessories, slides and books are on display in her husband’s home, Castle Ward

Castle Ward

Castle Ward is an 18th century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles from Strangford....

, County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

. William Parsons’ home at Birr Castle

Birr Castle

Birr Castle is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland. It is the home of the seventh Earl of Rosse, and as such the residential areas of the castle are not open to the public, though the grounds and gardens of the demesne are publicly accessible.-Ireland's Historic Science...

, County Offaly

County Offaly

County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...

, is also open to the public.

She is the great-grandmother of the English actress and author Lalla Ward

Lalla Ward

Sarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...

, known best for her role as Romana

Romana

Romana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

 in Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

.