Which scientist’s 1952 Photograph 51 helped reveal DNA’s helical structure?

Rosalind Franklin’s 1952 Photograph 51 helped reveal DNA’s helical structure.

The famous X-ray diffraction image was produced by Franklin and her doctoral student Raymond Gosling while they studied DNA fibers at King’s College London. Its cross-shaped diffraction pattern indicated a helical molecule, while other measurements helped estimate DNA’s dimensions.

Photograph 51 was shown to James Watson and Francis Crick, who used it alongside chemical evidence to build their 1953 double-helix model. Franklin’s data were crucial, although the history of how the image and related measurements were shared remains debated.

A common mix-up is to credit the photograph itself with proving the complete structure. It was important evidence, not the entire discovery. Franklin later made major contributions to virus structure research before her death in 1958.