Mary Somerville's paper was first presented by a woman to and published by the Royal Society in 1826.
In February 1826, Mary Somerville’s groundbreaking paper entitled "On the magnetizing power of the more refrangible solar rays" was communicated by her husband, William Somerville, to the Royal Society. Once published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, it marked the first time a woman had achieved such a feat. Her innovative research into the interplay between solar rays and magnetism not only challenged prevailing scientific perspectives but also heralded a new era in female scientific scholarship, providing a crucial stepping stone for future women in science.