Rosalind Franklin

What she did

Used X-ray diffraction to investigate DNA, producing Photograph 51 with Raymond Gosling. She also researched coal and viruses.

Impact and significance

Her X-ray measurements provided crucial evidence for the double-helical structure of DNA. Her work on coal and viruses also advanced the study of how materials and biological structures are organised.

This is Matria’s interpretation, not a quotation or personalised advice.

Works recorded in the archive

• Photograph 51 and X-ray diffraction of DNA (1952)
• work on coal and viruses

Sources and access

• The story behind Photograph 51, King’s College London
• Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. HarperCollins, 2002.Bibliographic reference. Consult the named edition through a library or publisher.
• Letter to her father (c. 1940); cited in Brenda Maddox, Rosalind Franklin (2002)Bibliographic reference. Consult the named edition through a library or publisher.

This label concerns the sources on this record. It does not validate every argument an author makes or establish what is true for a reader. Bibliographic coverage does not mean every passage or quotation has been verified. Specialist review remains pending.