This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Deirdre Bryan. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 27 April 1827, Ireland
Died: 31 August 1869
Country most active: Ireland
Also known as: Mary King
Ward, Mary (1827–69), artist, naturalist, and astronomer, was born 27 April 1827 in Ballylin, near Ferbane, King’s Co. (Offaly), youngest among three daughters and one son of the Rev. Henry King (1799–1857) of Ballylin, and Harriette King (née Lloyd), of Gloster, King’s Co. Her maternal grandfather, John Lloyd, was MP for King’s Co. 1768–90. She was educated at home by a governess, and from an early age showed an interest in the fields of astronomy, entomology, and microscopy. These interests were fostered by her maternal first cousin, William Parsons, 3rd earl of Rosse, a noted astronomer. In 1845 she obtained her first Ross microscope, the highest-quality instrument available at the time, and taught herself the techniques required to use it. Despite being self-taught, her astute scientific observations gained her the respect of contemporary scientists such as Sir William Rowan Hamilton. She published her observations in several books and articles. Her first book, Entomology in sport (1857), was written jointly with her sister Lady Mahon. She privately published Sketches with the microscope in 1857, based on a series of letters to a childhood friend, Emily Filgate. Additional books, The world of the microscope (1858) and Microscope teachings (1864; originally published privately in London by Groomsbridge as The world of wonders as revealed by the microscope [1858]) further reflect this long-held interest in microscopy. She was also a talented illustrator and worked for the Scottish scientist Sir David Brewster, inventor of the kaleidoscope. Her drawings of the telescopes of Sir Isaac Newton and the 3rd earl of Rosse are printed in Brewster’s Life of Newton (1855).
Her talents as an illustrator were not confined to scientific instruments and her drawing of the natterjack toad, accompanying an article she wrote for the Intellectual Observer in 1864, was held in such high esteem that the editor of the Irish Times commented on its quality in an editorial of 6 May 1864, and Professor Richard Owen, founder of the Natural History Museum in London, requested a copy of the illustration to place in the museum in 1864. Two of her books were displayed at the International Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace in 1862.
She married (6 December 1854) Henry William Crosbie Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor (1828–1911), of Castle Ward, Co. Down; they had eight children, six of whom reached adulthood. She died 31 August 1869 as the result of a tragic accident when she fell from a steam locomotive, built by the 3rd earl of Rosse, on which she, her husband, and two friends had been riding through Parsonstown (Birr), King’s Co. She injured her head in the fall and died almost instantly. She was buried in the Rosse family vault at Parsonstown.