FIELD OF STUDY: Biology;Chemistry;Molecular Biology
ACTIVE RESEARCH ERA: 20th century
RELATED PRINCETON COURSES:
MOL214
Background, early life, and outside interests:
Franklin was born on July 25, 1920 in London and died from cancer on the 16th of April in 1958. She studied physical chemistry at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. During World War II, Franklin served as a London air raid warden. Additionally, She researched the chemistry of carbon and coal for the war.
Most Notable Achievements:
Franklin found that DNA is a double stranded helix through crystallography and took the first comprehensive photo of the molecular structure of DNA. Additionally she contributed to the knowledge we currently know on the structure of viruses.
Barriers broken by this scientist:
As a female scientist in the middle of the 20th century, Franklin was not always given due credit for her important work. Thought it was her picture that led to the discovery of DNA's double helix structure, Franklin was disregarded, and the Nobel was given to her coworkers, James Watson and Francis Crick.
Citations:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rosalind-Franklin
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Rosalind Franklin.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed August 19, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rosalind-Franklin.
Nominated by Anlin Kopf
Edited by Ava Tynan