DNA's structure (Franklin's X-ray data)

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Who

Rosalind Franklin, a British Jewish chemist and X-ray crystallographer.

When

1952–1953

Where

London, United Kingdom

The double-helix structure of DNA, described by Watson and Crick in 1953, relied crucially on X-ray diffraction images produced by Rosalind Franklin, notably the famous 'Photo 51'. Franklin, a British scientist from a prominent Jewish family, generated the experimental data essential to the discovery.

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.