http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ward_%28scientist%29
"Mary Ward (b. Mary King, April 1827 in Ballylin, County Offaly, Ireland; d. 31 August 1869) was a multi-skilled scientist in the microscopic and telescopic fields.
She had the misfortune to fall under the wheels of an experimental steam car built by her cousins. This happened on 31 August 1869, and may make her the earliest motor vehicle accident victim.
In the nineteenth century, when most women received little education or encouragement for interest in science, Mary Ward was unusual."
"She became a keen stargazer, like her cousin William Parsons. He was building what would later become the world’s largest reflecting telescope, the Leviathan of Parsonstown, with a six-foot mirror. Mary often visited him at his home and, as she was an excellent artist, sketched each stage of the process. These sketches, along with photographs taken by William’s wife, were used when the telescope was restored recently.
Mary also drew insects, and the astronomer James South observed her doing so one day. She was using a magnifying glass to see the tiny details, and her drawing so impressed James that he immediately persuaded her father to buy her a microscope. For Mary, this was the beginning of a lifelong passion."
Universities and societies would not accept women, but Mary got information any way she could. She frequently wrote to scientists, asking them about papers they had published. In 1848, Parsons was made President of the Royal Society, and visits to his London home meant she was surrounded by scientists.
She had the honour of being one of only three women on the mailing list for the Royal Astronomical Society. Of the others, one was Queen Victoria and the other was Mary Somerville, a trailblazing scientist after whom Somerville College at Oxford University was named."
"Unfortunately, just as Mary was well known in life, she was well known in death. She has the distinction of being the first fatality in a car accident. William Parsons’ sons, as keen on mechanics as their father, had built a steam-powered automobile."
(The Red Flag Act) "... imposed a strict speed limit of four miles an hour in the country and two miles an hour in the town. This effectively put an end to the steam car, but some enthusiasts still had one, often home made, like the Parsons’ vehicle.
Mary and her husband were traveling in it with the Parsons boys and their tutor in 1869, when Mary was thrown from the car on a bend in the road. She fell under its steel wheel and died almost instantly."
Another link:
http://www.universityscience.ie/page..._mary_ward.php
