At any rate, Rosalind Franklin's images and the notes she made with them confirmed the helical structure of DNA. Watson was shown Franklin's results with out her knowledge or permission and he and Crick published a peer review paper based on Rosalind's findings proposing their "theory" that DNA held a double helix design. Crick and Watson received a Nobel prize and are generally credited to this day with discovering the double helix design.
Damian, you may ask, why have you interrupted your week of Peter Lorre eye candy with this scrumptious image of Rosalind Franklin? There are no coincidences in the Universe but just a couple weeks ago I caught something on one of those basic cable science channels. Once again, they are attributing the discovery of the double helix to Crick and Watson even though there was a big ballyhoo several years ago after which Francis Crick finally confessed that Rosalind Franklin was the source of most of their data for their paper that she had never been credited for. I found myself thinking for about a month, trying to remember the name of the female biophysicist and x-ray crystallographer that they poached most of their data from.
Fast forward to today, and Google is celebrating Rosalind's 93rd birthday. Yes, Rosalind Franklin. Sadly, I had forgotten her name again.
By the general public Rosalind Franklin is remembered for, not much of anything. This is because she was a female scientist working before the latter half of the twentieth century where the fight for equality, human rights, and equal treatment for women finally started seeing more female scientists receiving the respect that they deserved. Rosalind isn't part of our collective unconscious. There aren't posters in museum gift shops of her riding a bicycle or sticking her tongue out at the camera. She isn't remembered.
So I have a proposal. This sketch is based on a very nice photo of Dr. Franklin. I think people should screen grab it, meme grab it, of course with full permission of the original printers of the photograph or their descendants and assigns. I think it should be put on t-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads.
In addition I noticed when I was sketching her for this likeness the placement of her middle finger of her left hand against her throat. Perhaps something pithy like; "Dr. Franklin Has a Proposal for the Established Scientific Mediocrity". Although that might be pretty long for a coffee mug. Maybe just on the t-shirt then.
In closing; thank you Dr. Rosalind Franklin. Thank you for your years of service.
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