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Rosalind Franklin was born in London, England, and graduated from Cambridge University in 1941. Because of the ongoing war, World War II, she worked at the British Coal Utilization Research Association studying the nature of coal and charcoal and how to use them most efficiently, a problem affecting the war. Her work helped spark the idea of high-strength carbon fibers and was the basis of her doctorate degree in physical chemistry that she earned in 1945. She learned X-ray diffraction techniques during three years' study in Paris at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de L'Etat, returning to England to work as a research associate at King's College London with John Randall.

Without her knowledge, another Randall research associate, Maurice Wilkins, showed some of her X-ray diffraction photographs of DNA to James D. WatsonJames Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is one of the discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he enrolled at the age of 15, earned a B. in Zoology at the University of Chicago in 1947 and a Ph. in Zoology at Indiana Un, whereupon Watson, with Francis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM ( June 8, 1916 July 28, 2004) was one of the discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule. Born in Northampton, England, he studied physics at University College London, and became a B. During World War II, he worked on, succeeded in determining the molecule's structure, and published in Nature magazineNature is one of the oldest and most reputable general-purpose scientific journals, first published on November 4, 1869. Although most scientific journals are now highly specialized, Nature still publishes articles across a wide range of scientific fields on April 25, 19531953 is a common year starting on Thursday (click on link for the calendar). Events January events January 7 President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. January 13 Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugosl an article describing the double-helical structure of DNA. Articles by Wilkins and Franklin illuminating their X-ray diffraction data supporting the findings of Watson and Crick were published in the same issue.

Franklin died of ovarian cancerOvarian cancer is a malignant ovarian neoplasm (an abnormal growth located on the ovaries). Causes Ovarian cancer is fairly uncommon, yet it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women, the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies and in 1958 in London; it was almost certainly caused by exposure to radiation in the course of her research. Wilkins, Watson, and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineList of Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to the present day. 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s External links http://www. se/medicin in 1962Events January January 1 Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 8 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is e.

Much has been written on the role that Franklin played in the discovery of the structure of DNA. While it is clear that her work was an important basis for determining DNA's structure, the correct deduction itself was mostly the work of Watson and Crick. Whether, given time, Franklin would have reached the same deduction in the rather competitive race (including such figures as Linus Pauling) to discover the structure of DNA is unknown. Watson has stated that Franklin should have discovered the structure of DNA as much as two years before he and Crick did.

It is sometimes claimed that Franklin deserved a share of the 1962 Nobel Prize received by Watson, Crick, and Wilkins, and was denied this due to sexism, but the award would have been impossible under the Nobel Foundation's bylaws. The prize cannot be split more than three ways, and even if Franklin's work might have been deemed more meritorious than one of the other actual recipients', her death in 1958 had made her ineligible. (Posthumous prizes are permitted only if the recipient dies after the award is announced).