From them Rosalind learned about competition, sports, and other things more typically of interest to boys-and often took to them more than her brothers. Rosalind grew up surrounded by brothers-her older brother David, and her younger brothers Colin and Roland-until the birth of her sister Jenifer nine years later. Rosalind’s father Ellis maintained the family wealth by following the Franklin tradition of merchant banking. Rosalind Franklin was the second of five children born to Ellis Franklin (1894–1964) and Muriel (Waley) Franklin (1894–1976), both members of educated and socially conscious Jewish families that had arrived in England during the 1700s and 1800s. In addition to her expertise in the molecular structure of DNA, Rosalind Franklin was an expert in two other areas: the effects of heat on the microstructure of coal which included the changes that occurred during the conversion of some coals to graphite and the quantitative analysis of the ultrastructure of the experimentally important RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) virus and TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus). A British Museum Natural Science DNA exhibit in the 1960s omitted her name until a friend complained, but in March 2000, officials at King’s College, London named their new building the Franklin-Wilkins building, in honor of their two main DNA researchers. Although Anne Sayre’s 1975 biography discusses Rosalind Franklin’s contribution, it was unacknowledged in most books and DNA science exhibits until the 1990s.

Indeed, until 1968 when Watson wrote The Double Helix, she had only received vague credit for stimulating their work rather than specific credit for contributing to their original proposal. Although best known for being the British physical chemist whose crucial experimental data enabled James Watson and Frances Crick to solve the structure of DNA as early as 1953, she received no gracious mention from either of them during their Nobel Prize speeches.

Rosalind Franklin was an outstanding accomplished scientist, a fascinating individual with a strong personality, who made a lasting impression on everyone she met.

Rosalind franklin the dark lady of dna