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Rosalind 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 economically. 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.


Essays Related to Rosalind Franklin

1. Rosalind Elisie Franklin DNA

... and not imaginative- child, to King's College ""difficult,"" "intense,"" "austere- Rosy, to James Watson "clearly a silly "damned woman- playing a man's game. However, despite these age-old monotone portrayals, Rosalind Franklin is now more accurately depicted today. She was the genius who virtually solved the mystery of DNA structure by herself and was, in the end, cheated out of both life ... "though it lacked proofs, authorities, historical records, and credit to those "scientists on whose shoulders it was built."" Rosalind was not even alluded to until the next to last sentence. 3 Pa...

  • Word Count: 809
  • Approx Pages: 3
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2. Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin (1920 - 1958) Rosalind Elise Franklin was born on July 25, 1920 in London, England, and died on April 16, 1958 in London, England of ovarian cancer at the young age of 37. Franklin perhaps died though without proper recognition of some of her achievements. Franklin decided at the young age of fifteen to become a scientist. In 1941, she graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge. The work ... laboratory at King's College, Cambridge with John Randall. Here at Randall's lab would Franklin she run into Maurice Wilkes. Wilkes in 1962 would receive a Nobel Prize with James Watson a...

  • Word Count: 243
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  • Grade Level: High School

3. double helix

... early 1950's, British biophysicist Francis Crick and American biochemist James D. Watson determined the three dimensioned structure deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with the help of Maurice Wilkins and the test results from Rosalind Franklin's x-ray diffraction images.(Levine, 1997) A DNA molecule is really the blue print for the genetic, because it determines attributes of living things. With this major discovery came a great ... The acceptance was having a women scientist. He did not despise women, because he was a bit of a womanizer, but simply believed woman belonged in other areas of so...

  • Word Count: 2348
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. DNA

... use the same technique to study at DNA. This was not easy because DNA was difficult to crystallise. Two of the scientists who succeeded in overcoming the technical difficulties were Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Wilkins was the first to obtain crystals of pure DNA but these were crystals of the A form of DNA: this structure formed when little water is present ... James Watson and Francis Crick were working with atomic models at Cambridge. Not much was achieved until Watson went to Kings College to have a look at the picture taken by Rosalind Franklin. When Watson returned they ...

  • Word Count: 1535
  • Approx Pages: 6
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5. DNA Mysteries And Miracles

... only two real competitors: Linus Pauling, a master physical chemist, and the very loosely formed alliance between Cavendish scientists James Watson and Francis Crick and King's College scientists Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin (A Twist of Fate). The Cavendish team, (having been embarrassed in April 1951 by Pauling beating them to the discovery of the structure of keratin), were determined not to let it ... political views" (A Twist of Fate). While this may have bought more time for the Cavendish/King's College team, they knew that Pauling would not be deterred. In May of 1952, Ro...

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6. The History of DNA Research

... new gate way for the scientists that follow after Chargaff. Next is arguably the biggest discovery in genetics today behind the actually discovery of DNA. Two researchers whose names were Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins successfully discovered the shape of DNA. They found this out by the ambition to take X-Ray pictures of DNA to better understand how DNA actually works. They ... results of a pattern that, contained rungs, like on a ladder between two strands that are aligned side by side, they then could prove that DNA was a helix shape. In addition to Franklin and Wilkins discove...

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  • Approx Pages: 5
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7. The Double Helix

... the outside influence of many others in his scientific and personal worlds. One of the most inturiging characters throughout the book is that of Maurice Wilkin's assistant and antagonist, Rosylind Franklin. As I read, I found that much of Watson is revealed in the way that he relates to Rosy's character. He is a man of great passion and prejudice and many aspects of ... that she collected enabled them to build their models and shape their theory, which finally had to be corroborated by Rosy. Aaron Klug, the last student of Rosy's writes, "Rosylind Franklin made crucial contributions to ...

  • Word Count: 1078
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Extracting DNA From Vegetables

... the first scientist to identify and isolate DNA. Thanks to his discovery, scientists have since made numerous groundbreaking discoveries involving DNA. One noteworthy trio being Jason Watson, Francis Crick, and Rosalind Franklin who discovered the double helix; the ladder in which determines our genetic mark up. Think of DNA as a computer programmer and your body as the computer. DNA is essentially the ... ...

  • Word Count: 559
  • Approx Pages: 2
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  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Virtues of Diversity in Science and Society

... before, diversity brings the opportunity for new discoveries in research. While Caucasian men have dominated research in science for centuries, many prominent women and minorities and have had groundbreaking discoveries. Rosalind Franklin, a female British biologist and physicist, helped to discover the structure of DNA. Without her work, a lot about what we know about genetics would not have happened. William Cardozo, a black doctor ... ...

  • Word Count: 1301
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