2016-02-25 Thu

Royal Bank of Scotland paper money will now feature a woman other than the queen for the first time - 19th century astronomer and mathematician Mary Somerville. She was chosen over other potential candidates like physicist James Clerk Maxwell and civil engineer Thomas Telford through a public ballot.

Somerville was born in 1780 and studied in secret, since girls were almost barred from scientific learning. She was one of the first two female members of the Royal Astronomical Society and contributed to discovering the planet Neptune. A lunar crater is named after her, as are the asteroid belt 5571 Somerville.

The new notes would be issued in the second half of 2017.