Born in
Sharon, Connecticut on April 10, 1952, Terrall earned a
Bachelor of Arts from
Harvard University and a
doctorate from the
University of California, Los Angeles. The central theme of Terrall's research is the science of the 18th Century. She wrote articles on the various subjects of scientific culture in
Berlin during the time of
Frederick the Great and French science in the
Age of Enlightenment. She also took an interest in
vis visa, a theory at the origin of the laws of
conservation of energy. She notably wrote a book and several articles on
Pierre Louis Maupertuis, a French philosopher, mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and naturalist of the 18th Century who contributed to the various theories of
Isaac Newton and formulated the
stationary-action principle. Maupertuis also led the
French Geodesic Mission to the Equator. Terrall also described and analyzed the way Maupertuis used literary techniques to recount his expedition to
Lapland in the form of an adventure story, so as to interest a wider audience. She wrote an article describing his use of anonymity when publishing controversial work, though presenting it as neutral. Additionally, she took an interest in the work of
René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur and the way in which he and other naturalists used literary techniques to tell narratives on animal behaviors. Mary Terrall died on September 11, 2023, at tConception71. ==Awards==