About Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin

Born: 25th July 1920, Notting Hill, London

Died: 16th April 1958, Chelsea, London

Rosalind Franklin is often said to be a unsung hero who, as a result of gender discrimination, was not credited with her work in helping to uncover the secrets of DNA.  But Franklin’s remarkable work on DNA amounts to a fraction of her record and legacy. She was a tireless investigator of nature’s secrets, and worked across biology, chemistry and physics, with a focus on research that mattered to society. She made important advances in the science of coal and carbon, and she became an expert in the study of viruses that cause plant and human diseases. In essence, it is because of Franklin, her collaborators and successors, that today’s researchers are able to use tools such as DNA sequencing and X-ray crystallography to investigate viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.