Mary Parsons, Countess of Rosse (; 14 April 1813 – 1885), was an Anglo-Irish amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

, architect, furniture designer, and pioneering photographer. Often known simply as Mary Rosse, she was one of the early practitioners of making photographs from waxed-paper negatives.

Early life

Mary Field was born on 14 April 1813, at Heaton Hall, Heaton,

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, the daughter of John Wilmer Field, a wealthy estate owner. She had a sister, Delia, and they were educated at home by Susan Lawson, a governess who encouraged the young Mary's creativity and broad interests, including astronomy. The sister were joint heirs to their father's fortune. Through her family she met the future 3rd Earl of Rosse, then Lord Oxmantown (1800–1867), an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

astronomer and naturalist, and they were married on 14 April 1836. In February 1841, Lord Oxmantown succeeded his father in the family

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

to become The 3rd Earl of Rosse. They had married on 14 April 1836, her 23rd birthday. Mary, Baroness Oxmantown, thus now became The

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Rosse.

Astronomy

In the early 1840s the couple became interested in astronomy, and Mary Rosse helped her husband, Lord Rosse, build a number of giant telescopes, including the so-called Leviathan Telescope, that was considered a technical marvel in its time. The author, Henrietta Heald, contends that Rosse was not only a financial support to the building of the telescope, but that she also was involved in a practical and intellectual capacity. The ''Leviathan of Parsontown'' was completed in 1845 and held the record as the world's largest telescope for over 70 years, and was mentioned in

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

’s science fiction novel, ''

From the Earth to the Moon ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' () is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an en ...

''. During the Great Famine of 1845–47 in Ireland she was responsible for keeping over five hundred men employed in work in and around Birr Castle, where she and her husband lived. She created a huge dining room at Birr Castle in which to entertain scientific guests, which became increasingly used when Lord Rosse became President of the Royal Society of London in 1848. Guests included mathematician William Hamilton, who wrote her a sonnet about his experience of gazing through the Leviathan.

Photography

In 1842, Lord Rosse began experimenting in

daguerreotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

photography, possibly learning some of the art from his acquaintance William Henry Fox Talbot. In 1854, Lord Rosse wrote to Fox Talbot saying that Lady Rosse too had just commenced photography, and sent some examples of her work. Fox Talbot replied that some of her photographs of the telescope "are all that can be desired". Lady Rosse became a member of the Dublin Photographic Society, and in 1859 she received a silver medal for "best paper negative" from the Photographic Society of Ireland. Many examples of her photography are in the Birr Castle Archives. Much of the topography of Birr Castle that she portrayed has changed very little, and it is possible to compare many of her photographs with the actual places. She recorded the Leviathan in her photographs including one image showing her three sons, Clere, Randal, Charles and her sister in law, Jane Knox, standing upright at the mouth of the telescope.

Children

The Countess of Rosse gave birth to eleven children, but only four survived until adulthood: *

Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, (17 November 1840 – 29 August 1908) was a member of the Irish peerage and an amateur astronomer. His name is often given as Laurence Parsons. Biography He was born at Birr Castle, Parsonstown, King's Co ...

(17 November 1840 – 30 August 1908) * Reverend Randal Parsons (26 April 1848 – 15 November 1936) * Hon. Richard Clere Parsons (21 February 1851 – 26 January 1923), apparently made a name for himself building railways in South America. * Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931), known for his commercial development of the

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

. His wife, Lady Katharine Parsons and their daughter Rachel Parsons were founders of the Women's Engineering Society and its first and second presidents.

Death

Mary, Dowager Countess of Rosse, died in 1885.

Notes

External links

Birr Castle Demesne, Voyage of Discovery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Mary Pioneers of photography 1813 births 1885 deaths Scientists from Yorkshire 19th-century Irish astronomers 19th-century English photographers Irish countesses English women photographers 19th-century British women artists Photographers from Yorkshire 19th-century British women photographers Wives of knights British women astronomers