Rosalind Elsie Franklin — The orginal discoverer of the two-stranded helix structure of the DNA molecule. She used a technique called x-ray crystallography.

25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958




Working with a student, Raymond Gosling, Franklin was able to get two sets of photos of crystallized DNA fibers. She used two different fibers of DNA, one more highly hydrated than the other. From this she was able to deduce the basic dimensions of DNA strands, and that the phosphates were on the outside of the helical structure.