Janelle O'DeaDec 17, 2022
Sheril Kirshenbaum

Rosalind Franklin’s research was crucial to discovering DNA’s double helix structure 🧬 but it was James Watson & Francis Crick who received the credit & Nobel Prize.

Unknown to Franklin, the pair saw her unpublished data & X-ray diffraction images, inspiring their model. They never acknowledged her contribution until after her death.

How many discoveries & innovations of #women do we attribute to the men who took credit for their ideas?

https://theconversation.com/sexism-pushed-rosalind-franklin-toward-the-scientific-sidelines-during-her-short-life-but-her-work-still-shines-on-her-100th-birthday-139249 #history #science #HistoryRemix

Sexism pushed Rosalind Franklin toward the scientific sidelines during her short life, but her work still shines on her 100th birthday

Franklin was born a century ago, and her X-ray crystallography work crucially contributed to determining the structure of DNA.

The Conversation
Dec 17, 2022 at 10:30amWeb
Show threadKeiþ 🔭Dec 17, 2022
@Sheril Having a daughter doing chemistry at uni, these stories show just how much road has still to be traveled for equality
Show threadClare ChappellDec 17, 2022
@Sheril It's funny what triggers memories. I watched a film about this at school about 35 years ago. Only remembered that Juliet Stevenson was in it - she was obv the only one who made an impression on me! Perhaps I felt the injustice of Franklin's lack of recognition. Just looked it up on imdb in case of interest - it's called Life Story and was originally an episode of a BBC science programme called Horizon.
Show threadDean BairdDec 17, 2022
@ClareChappell_ @Sheril
Life Story (BBC Horizons)
https://vimeo.com/179934156
Life Story (1987) (Converted)

Vimeo
Show threadCarathDec 18, 2022
@ClareChappell_ @Sheril that TV programme is part of the reason I have a degree in molecular biology! Jeff Goldblum was in it. Excellent performance by Juliet Stevenson. Remember the scene where she shows her French colleague the staff common room that was just all blokes.
Show threadJames NoelDec 17, 2022

@Sheril
I first encountered this anti-women injustice in 1965 when I was 16.

I grew up on a farm. My mother single-handily set up and with the help of three of us kids, ran our dairy farm. Dad knew nothing about dairy farming - he did the cropping.

It was a letter from the dairy co-op that triggered my ire. It was addressed to my father with just "Mrs" in front of his name. The insult stings to this day and I frequently highlight the achievements of women who have been habitually deprived of recognition, Rosalind Franklin being one I insert whenever anyone mentions Watson and Crick.

Show threadCyberMindGrrlDec 17, 2022
@jinogo Yup it was extremely common to erase women's identities like that back in the bad old days. Women couldn't even open a bank account without their husband's or father's approval!
Show threadSusan A. KitchensDec 17, 2022
@jinogo @Sheril
The naming pattern of addressing the wide as Mrs. John Doe is a toughie. I have done some dives into scanned historic newspapers and it was common into the 1960s.
Now gonna throw this question to followers of the #histodon #Histodons hashtags: when did the naming convention start to shift from Mrs. John Doe to Mrs Sally Doe?
Show threadPatriciaColleyDec 17, 2022

@susankitchens

IIRC it started in the early 60s with the progressive movements of the time (women's lib), and gradually saturated the whole culture through the 70s & 80s.

Show threadSusan A. KitchensDec 17, 2022
@PatriciaColley thank you!
Show threadDonna Dechen BirdwellDec 18, 2022
@Sheril @susankitchens @jinogo The shift happened sometime between my mamma and me.
Show threadSusan A. KitchensDec 18, 2022

@donnadechen Yes. Generation Jones grew up with our mothers being identified as Mrs George Smith but we ourselves have used our own names.

Hm, wonder if this is related to the ceasing of the tradition where newspapers identified people and listed their street address in local newspaper stories (ie, “Mrs [name] Smith of 123 Anystreet”).

Show threadBea FurnissDec 17, 2022
@Sheril A different perspective, here. https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/23/sexism-in-science-did-watson-and-crick-really-steal-rosalind-franklins-data If Franklin felt wronged by Crick and Watson, I very much doubt she would have become close friends with the Cricks. If I remember rightly, Francis and Odile looked after Rosalind during her final months, as she was dying of cancer.
Sexism in science: did Watson and Crick really steal Rosalind Franklin’s data?

The race to uncover the structure of DNA reveals fascinating insights into how Franklin’s data was key to the double helix model, but the ‘stealing’ myth stems from Watson’s memoir and attitude rather than facts<br>

The Guardian
Show threadBea FurnissDec 17, 2022
@Sheril And just to clarify. The Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously. She couldn’t be nominated for the Prize awarded in 1962, which went to Crick and Watson, because she had died 4 years earlier.
Show threadGonçalo FerrazDec 17, 2022
@BeaFurniss @Sheril Thank you, Bea Furniss, for the instructive reply. Part 2 of Mukherjee’s ‘The Gene: An Intimate History’ also tells a much more nuanced version of this story. https://siddharthamukherjee.com/the-gene-an-intimate-history/ #sexism #dna
THE GENE: An Intimate History | Gene | Siddhartha Mukherjee

The New York Times Best Sellers Book- THE GENE: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Siddhartha Mukherjee |
Show threadBea FurnissDec 17, 2022
@gferraz @Sheril You’re welcome. Interesting article - made me re-evaluate my own opinions on Franklin, as I’d previously assumed she was uncooperative, which is why they went round her to the photograph: I can see how wrong I was. It also reminded me of my school chemistry teacher, who was an undergrad at Cambridge while Crick & Watson were working on this - one of her proudest moments was building a ball + stick double helix for them to pose with. This one…
Show threadBea FurnissDec 17, 2022
@gferraz @Sheril I guess…a woman had to be pretty exceptional in the 50s in science, to be taken seriously. To be doing the research…not get stuck with making the model. We would do well to recognise Rosalind for her tenacity and drive, rather than simply portray her as a victim of the patriarchy.
Show threadGonçalo FerrazDec 17, 2022
@BeaFurniss @Sheril
I agree. Just read this reflection by Anne Piper (lifelong friend of Rosalind Franklin), which I believe conveys Franklin's tenacity and drive very well: http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/articles/franklin/piper.html
"Light on a Dark Lady">

Contributions of 20th CenturyWomen to Physics: Historical archive of profiles of 20th century women who havemade original and important contributions to physics. Each profile focuses on thephysicist's scientific work, presents brief descriptions of major contributions,and lists important publications, honors, and appointments.

Show threadcytokine_stormDec 17, 2022

@BeaFurniss @gferraz @Sheril this sums it up perfectly! Also wasn’t she dead before the nobel prize was awarded? You can’t get the prize if you have died.

Rosalind is such a fantastic icon of feminism and it is frustrating to see her turned into a propaganda tool instead of recognised as the flawed but incredible person she was.

Show threadPaul H (he/him)Dec 18, 2022
@BeaFurniss @Sheril I find the article slightly biased. The only evidence of lack of sexism is just the "trust me, they would have done it to a man even though we can't prove it," claim made by the article's author. And then after that claim, providing clear sexist behavior on the part of Watson in the next paragraph is just how blind the author is to it. Is there clear evidence sexism played a role? No. Is there a lot of circumstantial? Sure.
Show threadBea FurnissDec 18, 2022
@pjhenry1216 @Sheril I don’t think the article is trying to argue there was a lack of sexism, when Watson was clearly sexist. What the article argues that there is more nuance to this than, ‘poor little woman has research stolen’.
Show threadPaul H (he/him)Dec 18, 2022
@BeaFurniss @Sheril I don't think it's saying anything other than "woman has research stolen" which is a legitimate claim. I'm not sure where you're getting the pity-angle from.
Show threadBea FurnissDec 18, 2022
@pjhenry1216 @Sheril if you reframed this to ‘Scientist has research stolen by rival scientist’, would you be paying as much attention to this?
Show threadjanemickDec 17, 2022
@Sheril same old same old 😞
Show threadAdam Trickett  Dec 17, 2022

@Sheril To be fair to Watson, Crick and Wilkins, they all accepted that she deserved the credit, and they credit her, but you can't win a Nobel prize posthumously - so they were awarded and she wasn't but that wasn't their fault in that case.

She hasn't had the credit she deserved, and I agree with your observation that plenty of women have lost out over the years to male contemporaries.

Show threadPaul H (he/him)Dec 18, 2022
@drajt @Sheril I think the problem is that they never bothered to give her that credit when she was alive.
Show threadAdam Trickett  Dec 19, 2022

@pjhenry1216 @Sheril Possible. I know if you read all their books around the double helix, it's clear that there was politics involved. Watson and Crick were treating it more of a race/game than Wilkins and Franklin.

Their papers in Nature were published back to back but it's 100% true that the media did and does tend to notice the loud ones over the quiet ones.

As a genetics graduate we were all told the story and Franklin was taught and credited.

Show threadPaul H (he/him)Dec 19, 2022
@drajt @Sheril it's great she's taught to a small niche of people (which most grad students are), but she's left out of the wider education in middle & high school, in the US in the 90s at least. So, might be incorrect to say C&W are responsible for the sexism, but pretending sexism didn't persist for decades in defining her legacy, or lack thereof, isn't the right way to address this either.
Show threadAdam Trickett  Dec 20, 2022

@pjhenry1216 @Sheril I can't speak for the US as I don't live there. I was taught about her in secondary school before I did my genetics degree.

Recently there was a campaign to have her on a new £50 banknote. Though that went to Alan Turing - who was hounded to death because he was gay.

I'm not saying there wasn't/isn't sexism/ageism/racism etc. I'm just saying things aren't as clear cut as some people say.

Show threadSudhirDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Sad to know 👎☹️😡. Why such discremination just because she was a woman? Nice, Sheril you brought up!👍🙂🌹🙏
Show threadTeroVaanDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Similarly Otto Hahn's discovery should have been a share Nobel with Meitner.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Meitner
Lise Meitner - Wikipedia

Show threadJennifer0104dgDec 17, 2022
@esajarvi @Sheril just coming on to mention Lise Meitner
Show threadkatieDec 17, 2022
@Sheril As a science teacher in Arizona, many times I've heard backlash against her from other women and men science teachers. #sexism #science #womeninscience
Show threadNirodhaDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Men taking credit for women’s ideas happens daily, around the world at various workplace meetings.
Show threadSaraSailor (she/her)Dec 17, 2022
@Sheril SO MANY!!!
Show threadKarl StanleyDec 17, 2022
@Sheril back when I lived in London I lived in the same neighbourhood Rosalind Franklin was from. I’m happy to say both my kids went to the Franklin Primary School in Kensal Rise, named after the great woman herself!
Show threadG. KnowlesDec 17, 2022

@Sheril I think it was also because she was dead when they gave out the Nobel prize, and the novel is not given posthumously.

Not that she would have been given one any way. She wasn't well treated as a scientist:(

Show threadJack IversDec 17, 2022
@Sheril I had a huge “how could I not know this” moment, attending events at Rosalind Franklin University and realizing I had no clue who she was — amazing person, and so under-recognized
Show threadDLHDec 17, 2022
@Sheril
Show threadmcadwellDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Probably wayyyyyy too many.
Show threadRui BorgesDec 17, 2022
@Sheril on a sidenote, the #Mars #rover from #ESA was named after her, it was such a wonderful surprise, to see her recognized in this manner, it is being hard to get it to the planet but the legacy is there, which is here.
Show threadStill don't Know YetDec 17, 2022
@Sheril 😅
Show threadMorten KjeldgaardDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Actually Watson & Crick did acknowledge Franklin & Goslin for figure 1 (the fibre diffraction diagram) in their 1953 paper.
Show threadStormcrowDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Men invented religion and marriage for the purposes of stealing women's bodies and work.
Show threadVooduDrewDec 17, 2022
@Sheril WOW....
Show threadDave MackeyDec 17, 2022
@Sheril there is a series of books by Vicki Leon called Uppity Women" that covers different historical time periods and regales us with stories of various women we know did great things...I've enjoyed reading...I'm certain you are correct about so many others having their work taken without recognition that we'll never know about
Show threadFly Me AwayDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Mary Anning got ripped off
Show threadLeeDec 17, 2022
@Sheril Not to mention what was done to Henrietta Lacks
Show threadPJSDec 17, 2022
@Sheril I so agree that Rosalind Franklin’s treatment by her male colleagues was dismissive of her important work. In terms of the Noble: she had died a few years before Watson and Crick were nominated, thus making her ineligible.
Show threadAntonio Páez 🇲🇽🇨🇦Dec 17, 2022

@Sheril

"There was never lipstick to contrast with her straight black hair, while at the age of thirty-one her dresses showed all the imagination of English blue-stocking adolescents"

This is Watson describing Franklin in The Double Helix.

https://www.science.org/content/article/rosalind-franklin-and-damage-gender-harassment

Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment

Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t

Show threadRobinSMessingDec 17, 2022

@Sheril

Rosalind Franklin should be featured on the American Women's Quarter Series. The U.S. Mint has announced who will be featured in 2023--and she is not on their list. As far as I know, the mint has not announced who will be honored in 2024 and 2025.

I don't know if the 2024 and 2025 honorees have already been chosen, and if not--how to nominate someone.

But she definitely deserves to be honored.

https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/american-women-quarters

American Women Quarters Program | U.S. Mint

The 2022-2025 American Women Quarters™ Program celebrates the contributions made by American women with up to five new quarter designs each year.

United States Mint
Show threadDaniel (Not A Lawyer)Feb 12, 2023
@RobinSMessing @Sheril Franklin wasn't from the US or a US citizen. She was commemorated on a coin issued by the Royal Mint in 2020.
Show threadCyberMindGrrlDec 17, 2022

@Sheril Who here is old enough to remember the Virginia Slims ad campaign that said "You've come a long way, baby"?

Absolutely disgusting.

Show threadNandini GuptaDec 17, 2022
@Sheril we took our kids to a science fair at IU’s biology building and pointed out a portrait of James Watson (IU grad), my daughter said “is this the man who stole the idea from Rosalind Franklin?”, for which I am grateful to their science teacher.