Mary Adela Blagg
Cheadle’s pioneering astronomer
Born in 1858, Mary Blagg lived her entire life in Cheadle. Mary’s groundbreaking work mapping the moon saw her become one of the first women admitted into the Royal Astronomical Society. A crater on the moon, Blagg crater, was named after Mary, and in March 2023, a planet was named Maryblagg in her honour. Mary’s grave is in the churchyard of St Giles the Abbot in Cheadle.
Commemoration Plaque
In 2017 Cheadle Discovery Group led a project which resulted in a monument to Mary Blagg being unveiled on the Tape Street car park in Cheadle.
Cheadle Moon Celebrations
In 2024 as part of the Cheadle Moon celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Mary Blagg’s passing, Cheadle Discovery Group collaborated with other local groups, organisations, residents and OUTSIDE to plan a programme of activities and events to tell her inspirational story and celebrate her life.
A selection of resources about Mary Blagg have been produced and are available here:
Find out about Mary Adela Blagg’s life and achievements
Listen to the audio story of Mary Adela Blagg
- Short Version
- Long Version
Read the transcript of the audio story
Read letters written by Mary Adela Blagg from 1906-1922
Thanks to the Royal Astronomical Society (downloads as a ZIP file)
Download the teaching resource
Inspired by the life and work of Mary Adela Blagg for Key Stage 2
