Roslind Franklin

A detailed Summary of Roslind Franklin

DNA was once considered a mystery of science. One of the people that helped to discover and solve the mysteries of DNA was Rosalind Franklin. Even though she had to struggle against a great deal of male ignorance in the scientific community, she still made an impact on the world of science.

Born on July 25, 1920, Rosalind attended St. Paul Girl's School in London. Franklin and her four other siblings received an advantaged childhood because their father was a banker. At an early age she showed an interest in science-like astronomy, physics and science. She also preferred building things than playing with a doll. (Stille, 74) Because of the time period in which she lived, Rosalind was considered odd because of her interests. Her interest in science continued until she reached college.

Rosalind applied and was accepted to Cambridge University in 1938. Her father was against her going to a university because he did not think that it was proper. She went to the university despite her father's opinion. She graduated in 1941.

After graduating from Cambridge she participated in all sorts of research. During World War Two, Rosalind worked for the British government. She did studies on how to use coal supplies more economi

cally. Much of her early research helped begin the modern field of carbon-fiber technology. (Newton, 52) She went to Paris, France from 1947 to 1950 to study the practice of x-ray crystallography. Rosalind returns to London in 1951 and accepts a research position at Kings College. Here is where she does the research that makes her most note able. She used the techniques that she learned in Paris to research the structure of DNA. She did not get along very well with her colleague Maurice Wilkins. He did not like her much because he thought she was supposed to be his assistant. The male staff members of Kings College treated her the same way. They never let her eat in the dining room of the college. She was made to eat in the student's hall. (Newton, 54) She worked passed this and made many insightful photographs of the structure of DNA. In 1953, Wilkins took one of these pictures to the competition, two scientists named Watson and Crick. (Watson was Wilkins's close friend.) Watson, Crick and Wilkins made a model of DNA from Rosalind's picture. They all get credit for it, except for Rosalind. Rosalind managed to move past this and in late 1953 she took a position as head of a research group at Birkbeck College. (Stille, 77) She spends her last days researching the structure of RNA viruses. She dies of ovarian cancer, in London, April 16, 1958 at the young age of 37.

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Approximate Word count = 953
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People