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Rosalind Franklin
1920–1958 · Chemist & X-ray Crystallographer
A pioneering chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work on DNA was crucial to determining its double-helical structure, who later advanced virology.
“Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.”
Why is this scientist famous?
Producing crucial X-ray diffraction data on DNA, including Photograph 51, with her student Raymond Gosling.
At King's College London, Rosalind Franklin produced exceptionally precise X-ray diffraction data on DNA. Working with doctoral student Raymond Gosling, she obtained Photograph 51, which provided clear evidence that the B form of DNA was helical and supplied important structural measurements. Her data became important evidence used in developing the double-helix model.
Rosalind's story
Early Life
Born in London into a prominent Jewish family. From childhood, Rosalind was determined, direct, and passionate about science. She studied chemistry at Newnham College, Cambridge, and earned her doctorate researching the structure of coal.
DNA at King's College
In 1951, Franklin joined King's College London to study deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) using X-ray crystallography — a technique that bounces X-rays off crystals to reveal the arrangement of atoms. She refined the equipment, controlled humidity, and produced exceptionally clear images. In May 1952, Franklin and her doctoral student Raymond Gosling produced Photograph 51, an exceptionally clear diffraction image of the B form of DNA whose pattern strongly indicated a helical structure.
The Discovery
Early in 1953, Maurice Wilkins showed Photograph 51 to James Watson without Franklin's knowledge. Watson and Francis Crick also obtained other information from research at King's, including data associated with Franklin's work. These experimental results helped them construct their double-helix model. In April 1953, Watson and Crick's model paper appeared in Nature alongside separate experimental papers by Franklin and Gosling and by Wilkins and colleagues. Watson, Crick and Wilkins later shared the 1962 Nobel Prize. Franklin had died in 1958 and was therefore not eligible for that Nobel Prize.
Legacy
Franklin moved to Birkbeck College and did important work on the structure of viruses before her death. Only in later decades did her crucial role in the DNA discovery become widely known. Today she is recognised as a central figure in one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century.
What did they discover?
Photograph 51
An X-ray diffraction image of the B form of DNA produced by Franklin and Raymond Gosling that provided strong evidence for a helical structure and important measurements used in understanding DNA.
DNA Structure Data
Franklin's careful measurements distinguished DNA's A and B forms and established important dimensions and structural features that contributed to the correct double-helix model.
Virus Structure
At Birkbeck College, Franklin led important structural research on tobacco mosaic virus and other viruses, helping lay foundations for structural virology.
Amazing facts
Photograph 51 was produced by Franklin and her doctoral student Raymond Gosling. Maurice Wilkins later showed it to James Watson without Franklin's knowledge.
She died at 37, four years before the Nobel Prize was awarded for the DNA discovery she had enabled.
Franklin died in 1958, four years before the 1962 Nobel Prize for work on DNA's structure, making her ineligible for that award.
She was an expert mountaineer and loved hiking in the Alps.
Her family helped Jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany.
The European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, asteroid 9241 Rosfranklin and Rosalind Franklin University in the United States were named in her honour.
Timeline
Born in London, England
Completed her undergraduate studies in natural sciences at Newnham College, Cambridge
Joined King's College London to study DNA
With Raymond Gosling, produced Photograph 51
Watson and Crick published the DNA double-helix model
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer
Died at age 37
Related Super Scientists
Marie Curie
1867–1934 · Physicist & Chemist
Pioneering the study of radioactivity and discovering the elements polonium and radium with Pierre Curie.
Charles Darwin
1809–1882 · Naturalist & Biologist
Proposing the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Maurice Wilkins
1916–2004 · Biophysicist
Important X-ray diffraction studies of DNA at King's College London and sharing the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Francis Crick and James Watson.
