Mary Rosse

Mary Parsons, Countess of Rosse (; 14 April 1813 – 22 July 1885), known as Mary Rosse, was an Anglo-Irish photographer, astronomer, blacksmith, and architect, known for her expertise in waxed-paper negatives.

Early life Mary Field was born on 14 April 1813, at Heaton Hall, Bradford, England, to John Wilmer Field, a wealthy estate owner, and Ann Field (née Wharton-Myddleton; died 1815). 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 sisters 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 astronomer and naturalist, and they were married on 14 April 1836. In February 1841, Lord Oxmantown succeeded his father in the family peerage 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 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, which 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. 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. and their daughter Rachel Parsons were founders of the Women's Engineering Society and its first and second presidents.

Death On 22 July 1885, Mary, Dowager Countess of Rosse, died aged 72 at her home on 10 Connaught Place, London.