Watson and Crick (1953)

1953

James Watson and Francis Crick (Cambridge) discover the structure of DNA.

Watson and Crick DNA double helix Watson and Crick
Image reference

Published in Nature on 2 April 1953 in an article entitled "A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid", which finishes with the concluding remark:

It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.

This historic discovery is based on previous work by Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) and Maurice Wilkins at King's College London.

Rosalind Franklin Maurice Wilkins
Left: Rosalind Franklin, right: Maurice Wilkins

1962, after Rosalind Franklin's death, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins are awarded the Nobel Prize, giving no credit to Franklin for her invaluable work.

Next
Start