British scientist Rosalind Franklin died #OTD in 1958.
Her most famous contribution to science came from her X-ray diffraction images of DNA, particularly Photo 51, which provided crucial evidence for the double helix structure of DNA. Her photo was shared without her knowledge with J. Watson & F. Crick, who used it as a basis for their model of DNA's structure. Their work overshadowed her contribution, & she was not fully recognized for her role until after her death.
@gutenberg_org
That photo is also a solid-gold classic, she's giving the camera a great Most-Interesting-Woman-in-the-World look.
Caption: I don't always do x-ray crystallography, but when I do, it changes our fundamental notions of life.
@runkleva @gutenberg_org
I don't entirely disagree, and maybe it would be better if her best-known photograph was her at work, like the photo below.
But I also like that she was more than just a scientist. She was an adventurer, and traveled the world, seeing more than most of us ever will 100 years later. My favorite pictures of Franklin are during her hiking trips, like the one below.
Project Gutenberg
Pete
Victoria