Mary Ward (née King; 27 April 1827 – 31 August 1869) was an Irish naturalist, astronomer, microscopist, author, and artist.

[4] Ward was a keen amateur astronomer, sharing this interest with her cousin William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse.

Parsons built the Leviathan of Parsonstown, a reflecting telescope with a six-foot mirror which remained the world's largest until 1917.

Along with photographs made by Parson's wife Mary Rosse, Ward's sketches were used to aid in the restoration of the telescope.

She was using a magnifying glass to see the tiny details, and her drawing so impressed him that he immediately persuaded her father to buy her a microscope.

Parsons, to recall, was Ward's cousin and visits to his London home meant that she met many scientists.

The printing sold during the next few weeks, and this was enough to make a London publisher take the risk and contract for future publication.

A new full-colour facsimile edition at €20 was published in September 2019 by the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society, with accompanying essays.

A doctor who lived near the scene arrived within moments, and found her cut, bruised, and bleeding from the ears.