There are many important figures in the field of science, specifically in biology who have made discoveries that helped us better understand our world, everything both in and around it. Three highly esteemed figures in the DNA conversation are James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins. They were given credit and received a Nobel Prize for their discoveries regarding the understanding of DNA structures. If you have taken any biology class or plan to take one in the future, you will most likely hear one or all their names. However, one of the scientists who contributed to the discovery of the DNA structure wasn’t given as much credit as the other three, that scientist is Rosalind Franklin.
Born in London, England in 1920, Franklin always had a fascination for the sciences and attended one of the few girls’ schools in London that taught physics and chemistry; which she excelled in. At the age of 15, she was set on becoming a scientist, which her father didn’t approve of, but he later allowed her to attend Newnham College, Cambridge in 1938. She graduated in 1941 with a degree in natural sciences and after, attended Cambridge University where she got her doctorate in physical chemistry in 1945. Between that time, she worked at the British Coal Utilization Research Association where she studied carbon and graphite microstructures.
After graduating with her doctorate, she worked in a laboratory in Paris where she learned about X-ray diffraction techniques. After 3 years of working there, she moved back to London and worked as a research associate in the laboratory of John Randall, a physicist credited for his improvement of the cavity magnetron which aided in the victory of the Allies during WWII. This lab is where Franklin met Mauricie Wilkins and they had a rocky relationship since Wilkins treated her as a technical assistant instead of a researcher.Â
In Randall’s lab, Franklin was tasked with their DNA project which no one worked on for months. Franklin would take X-ray photos of DNA and work towards deciphering its structure and was very close to figuring it out. Despite this, Wilkins showed James Watson the pictures Franklin took of the DNA and he, Wilkins, and Francis Crick were able to figure it out and published their discovery before Franklin could. Franklin wasn’t credited for her contribution to the discovery and instead, her work was just used as a supporting article in the publication.Â
After not receiving credit for her work on the DNA structure, Franklin left Randall’s lab to work in J.D. Bernal’s lab, a scientist who pioneered the use of X-ray crystallography in molecular biology. In Bernal’s lab, Franklin did research on the tobacco mosaic virus and poliovirus. In 1956, Franklin was diagnosed with cancer and died two years later in London at the age of 37.
Rosalind Franklin is an example of the significant scientific contributions made by women, yet were not given the due credit and recognition they deserved at that time. Of course, now she is given the credit she deserves for her work and is being mentioned as one of the scientists who discovered the DNA structure, but she never was able to witness that recognition. I believe that this should set an example, where everyone should fight to get the credit they deserve for their work, no matter what field it is in. Women have long been underestimated and belittled, yet their work is showcased with pride. The failure to recognize women for their achievements and discoveries is only a manifestation of misogyny which must be overcome. Fortunately, we see this changing with major improvements regarding women’s recognition for their work in all fields.