Mary Edwards (human computer)

Mary Edwards (c. 1750 – September 1815) was a human computer for the British Nautical Almanac and one of a very few women paid directly by the Board of Longitude, and to earn a living from scientific work at the time.

She was one of 35 human computers who calculated the position of the sun, moon and planets at different times of day for annual nautical almanacs used for navigation at sea.

Edwards was introduced to the almanac project and Nevil Maskelyne, the fifth English Astronomer Royal, through her husband. John Edwards (c 1748–1784) had taken on piece-work as a computer to supplement the family income and received payment for work on 6 months' worth of each almanac from 1773 until his death in 1784. It was revealed that Edwards had done most of the calculations when she wrote to Maskelyne to ask if she could continue work to support herself and her daughters after her husband's death in 1784.

Over time, her reputation for reliability and accuracy meant she could take on more work. She continued until her death in 1815. Her daughter, Eliza (1779-1846), also worked as a computer, initially helping from a young age and then independently after her mother's death in 1815. She continued to work for the Nautical Almanac until 1832, at which date computing work was centralised in London.

The minor planet 12627 Maryedwards was named in her honour.

See also

• List of female mathematicians
• Women in computing
• Women in the workforce
• History of science