ROSALIND FRANKLIN
At some point in our lives, someone will say something completely untrue, unforgivingly unsolicited. But what happens when they do it behind your back? To someone incapable of defending themselves? To someone who isn’t present? What if someone slandered your name in it’s entirety, belittling your greatest accomplishments just to, inevitably, take credit for themselves?
Rosalind Franklin was exceptionally bright, known for her unique intellect at the ripe, young age of six by her family.[1] She attended the most prestigious schools available to her, setting standards that baffled those around her. Though even her own family tended to the social order of gender inequality, (her own father only ever hired men),[2] Rosalind went to the same school as her eldest brother, until she later attended a boarding school, eventually returning to London to attend a girls’ school known for its academics. She excelled in academics, taking entrance exams to college a year before she was of age. She attended a women’s college focusing in science and mathematics, despite her parents’ wishes of her having a more maternal career. In a letter home, she referred to one professor as “very good, although female,” noting and persevering through a predominately male workforce.[3]
She graduated at the top of her class, earning herself a scholarship, leading to her PhD in 1945.[4] In her early career following school, she was offered a position as a chemist in Paris, making her one of only fifteen researchers in the Central National Laboratory. This facility treated the employed men and women equally, and it is said that her four years in Paris may have even been the happiest years in her life.[5] Though she was happy, she returned home to a new position- to work with DNA using x-ray diffraction at King’s College, a part of the lab normally run by Maurice Wilkins. Wilkins argued that she was only hired to be his assistant, when in fact she was not.[6] He didn’t handle the newcomer too well, eventually stealing her lab notes and ideas. Unlike the lab in Paris, Rosalind worked around the gender segregation, with even the lunchroom off limits to her.[7]
Ultimately, it was Wilkins, James Watson and Frances Crick that took undeserved credit for the entirety of the chemical structure of DNA, accepting a Nobel Prize, after Rosalind’s death at the age of 37.[8] Prior, Rosalind, with the help of her PhD student, had built a camera that had given the clearest x-ray images to date, which was later taken by the men, along with all of her lab notes, that created the DNA model.[9]
The biggest slap in the face, though, was Watson’s book, depicting Rosalind as an abrasive, brutish woman who knew not how to be feminine. He gave her the nickname “Rosy,” which she did not go by. He depicted her with every imaginable, unattractive trait even if they weren’t true, as to make her out to be some pushy smartass taking over his lab.[10] In fact, it is mentioned that others had the pleasure of working with her, and that she was extremely smart and precise with her work.[11] After Watson’s lies were published, a friend of Rosalind, Anne Sayre, wrote Rosalind Franklin and DNA, correcting all of the misleading ideas set forth by Watson, claiming that she had been “unjustifiably robbed” of proper credit.[12] She gave Rosalind the credit that was due, and slashed through all of the insulting ideas brought on by Watson with Rosalind’s true self. Rosalind worked until almost the day of her death- the day she died some of her work was published. She was an extremely intelligent woman, set out and destined to break records.
[1] Galvin, Eileen A., Aphrodite, Clamar, Siderits, Mary Anne, Women of Vision: Their Psychology, Circumstances and Success, Springer Publishing Company, January 2007. See page 262
[2] IBID.
[3] IBID. See page 263.
[4] IBID. See page 264.
[5] IBID. See page 265.
[6] IBID.
[7] IBID. See page 267.
[8] IBID. See page 269.
[9] IBID. See page 267.
[10] Sayre, Anne. Rosalind Franklin and DNA. New York: Norton. 2000. p 18-19.
[11] IBID. See page 21.
[12] Galvin, Eileen A., Aphrodite, Clamar, Siderits, Mary Anne, Women ofVision: Their Psychology, Circumstances and Success, Springer Publishing Company, January 2007. See page 270.
As a female raised in the mid 18th century, Rosalind Franklin is an inspirational example of a woman who pursued an education in STEM, which is known to be dominated mostly by men. At the time this was not something even men could do easily, and knowing she was at a disadvantage in the workforce, she still persevered and dealt with misogynistic coworkers for the majority of her time in the laboratory. Even now it modern society, it is uncommon to see your average lady in such a technical field of study. This is similar to how Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird fought for Tom Robinson's case. Like Rosalind, Atticus pursued on in a difficult situation ignoring the societal norms he was breaking by standing up to defend a black man. I’m curious to know whether you think Rosalind would have earned the nobel peace prize if she were alive to receive it? Or do you think they would look past her achievements because of her gender.
ReplyDeleteI think that she certainly would have received the Nobel Peace Prize, had she been alive to receive it. Ultimately, she had others defending her work after the credit was stolen, especially Anne Sayre. However, I think that Rosalind Franklin would have defended her own research as well, assuring that she was included.
DeleteBefore reading this article I thought that I had mostly learned what needed to be known about Rosalind Franklin and her contributions to the scientific community. The basics of her career were outlined in Science class and it was generally understood that she just did not get along with Maurice Wilkins in a mutual way, not that she had the rug pulled out from under her by someone that she trusted enough not to. In this way her story can be likened too that of the character Ralph's from the book The Lord Of The Flies. Ralph gets all his recognition and control taken from him by a boy named Jack who steals pretty much everyone away from him. Not only that, but then Jack proceeds to ridicule Ralph and turn everybody against him. Franklin unfortunately is forced to go through the same torment, and yet like Ralph she continues on working just as hard as she always has and becoming a great role model for women and anybody else who has been trampled on. I would like to know from you though, do you think that she would have worked as hard in the STEM if she wasn't discriminated against? or was it that very discrimination that lead her succeed and help enlighten the world.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was in her nature to be a hard working woman. Even from a young age she was very ambitious and eager to learn, so I do think she would have worked as hard- maybe harder, had she not been discriminated against.
DeleteI would just like to point out something you said that struck a chord. In the beginning of your comment you say that you had thought you had (mostly) learned what needed to be known, and that her career was outlined. Do you think knowing about the discrimination she faced throughout her career would help the understanding of her life and career upon learning of her?
Rosalind Franklin is a woman who made a discovery of great significance to the field of biology. Her achievement is made even greater though, because she was able to to these things while being doubted and looked down upon by her colleagues. She was at a severe disadvantage because her coworkers were men and were considered to be more reliable and smarter than Rosalind. It is truly awful that she wasn't credited for her work but her male colleagues were. She was truly dedicated to her work, she lived and died by it (she got cancer from radiation during an experiment). Rosalind's story reminds me of Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird, they each went against the commonly accepted ideas of their times and tried to do something that was not seen as normal by other people of their day. Atticus failed in his attempt while Rosalind succeeded (even though she was robbed of her credit). Do you think that Rosalind should be awarded a nobel peace prize today? (even though she is dead).
ReplyDelete-Tyler C
Thank you for commenting Tyler! This is Professor Vinson at UMass Lowell. I am responding for Beth because she is unable to.
DeleteBeth writes to Saomenea above, "I think that she certainly would have received the Nobel Peace Prize, had she been alive to receive it. Ultimately, she had others defending her work after the credit was stolen, especially Anne Sayre. However, I think that Rosalind Franklin would have defended her own research as well, assuring that she was included."
I think you did a wonderful job with justifying your comparison of Rosalind and Atticus! It is difficult to argue against commonly accepted ideas isn't it?
This article brings me back into the time in biology class when we were learning about who invented DNA, and I realized that I have been lied to my whole life. Throughout my years of learning I have been told that Watson and Crick were the two sole inventors of DNA, and this actually infuriates me. Rosalind had her work stolen from her by two men, who probably just wanted the recognition for themselves. The worst part of this whole situation was that they also made lies up about her stating that she wasn't as smart as everyone made her out to be. This situation was unjust and unfair and I would never want something like this to happen to me. Rosalind was very devoted to her studies and spent much time on her work, just for it to be claimed by someone else. The one positive out of this article was that her friend, Anne Sayre, wrote a novel based on Rosalind and DNA attempting to give her proper credit. I just can't fathom how two other scientists could be so quick to take someone else's ideas and claim as their own, like how would they feel if she has done it to them? Not too good! Rosalind's story reminds me of Elie in the novel Night. Elie had his identity taken away from him, replace by a number and Rosalind had her lifework of studies robbed from her. Yes, getting your identity and work taken are on two totally different scales, however both people had to deal with the struggles of getting things that were important from them taken away. Thank you for writing this amazing article and opening my eyes to an incredible woman. This article was beautifully written and I have one question after reading this. Do you believe that we should incorporate Rosalind into more scientific research on DNA instead of giving Watson and Crick all of the credit?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you could take so much away from reading! I absolutely think that we should incorporate Rosalind Franklin, I'm honestly surprised that Watson and Crick still receive so much credit without regard to her. Maybe we can all spread her name and make up for lost time :)
DeleteRosalind Franklin was an amazing woman who contributed a great gift to the STEM studies. It was her work that directly helped find the chemical structure of DNA. Unfortunately her work was stolen so many don't know about her remarkable achievements which were unusual for a woman of her time. Even though she did not receive credit for her work, she made it more acceptable for women to participate in scientific programs. This reminds me of Atticus in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, who defended a black man in court, even though it was wildly unaccepted by others. However, his seriousness during the trial could've caused the racism of Macomb County to begin to decline. Do you think that if the same events transpired in today's environment, would her work still go by a male coworker's name rather than her own?
ReplyDelete-Josh G
That's an interesting question- it reminds me of Katherine Johnson. In Hidden Figures, she is shown struggling to take credit for her extreme efforts working for NASA and "co"-worker Paul repeatedly tells her that she cannot put her name on the documents, in short. Truthfully, I think that this still exists to some extent- but thankfully much has changed and in Rosalind Franklin's case, I think she would have received credit for her work had she been around in the present.
DeleteI can agree with you on that because I feel that she would probably receive praise for her work today, although it might not be as much as if she was a man. Even though we have progressed a lot in the field of gender equality, I think we have a long way to go before we can truly say we have gender equality.
DeleteThe first time I can recall hearing the name Rosilind Franklin was in Biology class. At that time, the information I recieved about her was limited to her being a woman who did not recieve the credit she deserved. Her experience did not stick out to me much then. She was just another person in a textbook. Living in a time where women are equals to men, I often forget that life was immensely different before my time. Times tend to blur together, so this article put things back into perspective for me. I found myself getting angry at the statement "very good, although female." I was infuritated on Franklin's behalf as I learned the deeper story that goes beyond science and into social issues at that time. I also found myself recalling that these issues are not limited to just time. Prejudice against women may not be abundant in modern America, but there are other countries where women still face these struggles. I was reminded of the memoir "I am Malala" where Malala Yousafzai shares her fight for women's eductaion in Pakistan. She was constantly put down by people in her village who believed she was going against Islam, but her hopes for education persisted. Malala is a bright girl who dedicted her life to learning and almost had her hard work taken away from her, similar to Franklin's experience. Research wise, did you use sources from the time period as well? I'm curious to know your particular attitude towards writing this article. Did you have an idea as to the main points of this article or did your article change as your research continued?
ReplyDeleteActually, I had no idea what angle to take when starting my research on Rosalind Franklin. With her older brother she attended school, and regularly broke through typical stereotypes for her time period. I was actually stuck for awhile, trying to find an angle at every piece of her life. Because of that, it took me some time to get to the point in her life where the bulk of her career takes the stage. From there it was pretty clear, though I wish I had read more about what Anne Sayre had to say about Rosalind and her career.
DeleteI believe that, although we have come very far in the equality, we still have a little bit of that mountain left. There are, though, many other places that are still facing a very black and white gender oppression, and I agree that Malala is a fascinatingly brave and intelligent girl!
This article was very touching. I remember learning about her in Biology and hearing about how her partner and some others received a Nobel Prize with the help of her hard work and research. She may have been dead at the time, but she got no credit for helping out with the DNA research even though all of her work was referenced. I find it despicable now that I know the extent to which she was treated. As a woman who hopes to go into science, it makes me apprehensive about my future. Times have definitely changed, but people continue to ignore the role of this inspirational woman on science. This reminds me of The Lord of the Flies because Piggy often influenced many of Ralph's ideas and got next to no credit for them, just like Rosalind. It also reminds me of Malala's struggle to be seen as a smart woman who had a great education and ideas to spread. Rosalind's ideas were built on years of research and studying and education, yet many people did not recognize her as such a smart woman. How do you think this affects women in science today? Also do you believe that there is another way we can recognize her research through a well-earned prize that is not affected by her death? How did you feel while researching her?
ReplyDelete- Bethany S.
Hi Bethany,
DeleteThank you so much for commenting on Beth's story. She is unable to respond right now so I am responding for her. This is Professor Vinson, Beth's teacher.
I think Franklin's experience could dissuade women from entering the STEM field. First, if we don't hear about Franklin we don't know that she (and other women) have made important contributions to the sciences. We often need role models to know that we are capable of great things. When we don't tell the stories of female scientists, little girls may not know what they are capable of!
Second, I am afraid that learning about a story like Franklin's could dissuade women from entering scientific fields because . . .well, who would want to work in a field where you might be discriminated against and then have your ideas taken away from you? Women in science today may be concerned that the same thing might happen to them.
Yet, reading through the many comments on Beth's story about Franklin and hearing that many of you *have* heard of Franklin and her contributions makes me happy. Perhaps students are learning about important female scientists and eager to join the sciences to follow their example.
I am really excited to learn that you are planning to study science, Bethany. If you are planning to attend UMass Lowell, please let me know! I know some wicked smart science professors who would make it a priority to help women into the STEM fields.
Best,
Professor Vinson
I completely agree that it may dissuade women from entering scientific fields. It simply is not fair that men can get credit for anything important that they do, while most women are overlooked. I personally have always loved scientific fields, so I tried to find a female role model to look up to. It was incredibly hard for me to discover that there were plenty of women in such fields, but their work was not recognized as it should have been. It is upsetting that they do not get as much credit or recognition as they deserve. When I was younger, I did try to look to scientific women, but there were very few that I was told about. She is still one of the only women in science that I know of which is disappointing. It is good that she is getting recognition for her works now, although she wasn't when it counted. Thank you for responding!
DeleteWhile I've learned about DNA a few times in the past year, Rosalind Franklin has been mentioned each and every time. I think this article on her was very informative as well as being interesting. I had no idea she'd invented an x-ray camera specifically to further her own research, or the literal slander written about her by Maurice Wilkins. The way that her efforts were not recognized at the time, but are now seen from an outside view as extremely important remind me of Ralph from The Lord Of The Flies, which I read last year. Ralph's actions were for the betterment of the other boys that were with him, and were also eventually unpopular despite the great responsibility he took on. From a reader's perspective, one can recognize his well-meaning attempts to make survival possible for the younger boys on the island just as we can now see Rosalind Franklin's amazing contributions today in the 21st century. While reading this I really couldn't help but wonder why you chose the different text colors. Do they represent something? Was it just a decision to add some color to the page?
ReplyDelete-Nick F
Hi Nick, I'm glad to hear that you've been learning about Rosalind Franklin in learning about DNA. Thankfully, as you and your classmates have shown me, she is evidently receiving more credit in being discussed, taught and included in the learning of the early DNA research. I feel that at this point, as students, the best thing we can do on a regular basis to give her (and other oppressed women) the credit they deserve is to continue talking about them, and their accomplishments. I'm happy you were able to find out something new as well- inventing something like that is pretty awesome!
DeleteTo be completely honest in answering your question: no, the colors are not representative of anything. I just thought the colors were fun :)
Rosalind's life experiences just go to show how inequality was grained into the minds of almost everyone at this point in time. Women even believed they were less than men. The part with the female professor amazed me, just because she was a women she was seen as less than her male counterparts even though she was probably just as smart, if not smarter, than a majority of them. In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," the people of Maycomb are extremely prejudice and they don't see anything wrong with it, because it is the way it has aways been for them. No one has ever said or done anything different so why would anything think they were doing anything wrong? Rosalind was mistreated her whole life, and she did amazing things that her male counterparts could not. If not for people like her we would probably still be where we were a couple hundred years ago. What compelled you to write about Rosalind Franklin?
ReplyDeleteHi Kailey,
DeleteThank you for commenting on Beth's story! Beth is unable to respond right now so I am responding to comments for her. This is Professor Vinson.
I was amazed by Franklin's comment about the professor as well. I hope my students don't say that about me :-) You are very smart to notice that sexism (or the idea that one sex is inherently superior or better than another) is engrained in a culture. Gendered oppression isn't just about men being mean to women, it is about a system of power and relationships that consistently (and often subtly) reaffirm that men are better (smarter/stronger/faster/ more "normal") than women. Men and women can perpetuate this system.
Beth writes to Lily below:
"To answer your question, I had a list of women to choose from, and there were about half of them left. To be honest, unlike many of you here in the comments, I had never heard of her, which I find quite shameful. I don't remember learning of even so much as her name in school.
I chose Rosalind Franklin because I also am inspired by science- I started my career at UML as a science major, though I've since switched. I wish I had had a more inspirational forethought to my research and this article, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn more about powerful women!"
The first I had heard of Rosalind Franklin was in a middle school science class. When I was in that class I learned that while she did contribute greatly towards discovering DNA, the more commonly known people that also worked in the same things were the men. Even though she was looked down upon by her peers because she was a woman, she still worked hard. At that time most STEM fields were mostly if not completely dominated by men. Franklin's situation reminds me of Atticus from To Kill A Mockingbird because neither of them let what other people thought of them stop them from doing the best the could at their jobs. Franklin didn’t let her men colleagues diminish her abilities just like Atticus didn’t let what the people in Maycomb thought of him try any less to win his case. Do you think that the books should be changed so she can get the recognition she deserves? Does it irritate you to see how she was completely overlooked by the scientific community because she was a woman?
ReplyDelete-Charisa Beale
Hi Charisa,
DeleteThank you for commenting on Beth's story about Franklin. I am so happy to hear that you did learn about Franklin's contributions in your middle school science class. I know for a fact that Beth *is* irritated by the sexist oppression Franklin had to face and Beth does believe that the books should be changed so that Franklin can consistently get credit for her contributions!
What do you think?
--Professor Vinson
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this, I am reminded of a development in science and education for women during the scientific revolution Europe, which I learned about in AP European History. The scientific revolution gave more equality to education, and women could even be a part of scientific discovery and experimentation. However, this was often under the table, and a woman's work would not be taken seriously. Therefore, for fair recognition of it's merit, it would often be published under the husband's name. This however was unfair as the husband got all the credit. This also reminds me of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. He had false accusations placed against him and almost no one to stand up for him besides Atticus. This came racing into my mind as I read of how Rosalind's work was stolen and she was ridiculed. It made me mad to hear not only that her work was stolen, but that she was also derided without defense. As you wrote this, what did you feel? Did you know about the backlash she recieved from her coworkers before you researched her?
ReplyDeleteHi David,
DeleteThank you so much for commenting on Beth's work! She is unable to respond, so I am responding for her. This is Professor Vinson--Beth's teacher.
Beth writes to Lily, "To be honest, unlike many of you here in the comments, I had never heard of [Franklin], which I find quite shameful. I don't remember learning of even so much as her name in school." Since Franklin was new to Beth, she did get really angry (and inspired) as she researched and wrote about her.
As people who value "fairness" and "justice," Franklin's story--as Beth has told it here--is devastating! Have you ever experienced "backstabbing"?
First of all, thank you for this article. It was inspiring, yet angering for me. I have always loved science and seeing women make it to the top of the field is what I used to dream about for my future. However, the fact that she still had to deal with sexism and segregation from male counterparts was utterly disgusting. She had proven herself in her field, but was still not seen for the genius she was, and not even given proper credit for her revolutionary discoveries. Her struggles reminded me of what Tom Robinson had to face in "To Kill a Mockingbird." They both dealt with segregation and discrimination simply because of something they could not change about themselves. They both seemingly proved that they should be taken seriously, but people were unable to look past their race or gender. My only question about your article is, what inspired you to write about Rosalind Franklin?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your passionate response!
DeleteTo answer your question, I had a list of women to choose from, and there were about half of them left. To be honest, unlike many of you here in the comments, I had never heard of her, which I find quite shameful. I don't remember learning of even so much as her name in school.
I chose Rosalind Franklin because I also am inspired by science- I started my career at UML as a science major, though I've since switched. I wish I had had a more inspirational forethought to my research and this article, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn more about powerful women!
Thank you for this article. Though I've read and have been told about Rosalind Franklin's story it is still able to affect me each time. It's a common theme in history for the presence of women to be erased or replaced by a male presence, and today this still stands. While she is continuously mentioned in places it always is brief and frustrates me, she is not stated as the main contributor and in others minds she has nothing to do with DNA although the woman may've suffered and died from her life's work just to have others steal it. Though I can not remember the short story's name it reminds me greatly of a hostess in a room of men. Though there was a deadly snake the woman calmly acted to get the snake smoothly removed, and was given credit. In this situation Franklin had no power or ways to revive credit after all she had died.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Franklin should have or should receive some sort of award or that the group behind the Nobel Peace Prize should give her an honorary one to show that their thinking and ways have changed?
Hi Amy! Thank you for replying to Beth's post. I am responding on her behalf because she is unable to at this time.
DeleteBeth *does* think that Franklin should have received some credit. I think Franklin (and Camille Claudel--see the other post) should receive an honorary degree of some sort. Perhaps the best honor will be if we promise to remember Franklin and tell her story over and over so that it is not forgotten.
Rosalind Franklin is an amazing women and your article helped me fall more deeply in love with her work than I was before. Growing up, I always felt like I was not good enough to become a scientist because I was a girl, and I never heard about famous female scientist. Your piece of writing helped me remember my self doubt and realize that I am capable!
ReplyDeleteThis story reminds a lot of Jean Louise from "To Kill a Mockingbird", because she was so forced into the social norms of her time. Jean is a very smart girl and does not allow the things her aunt wants affect how she acts and dresses. Rosalind is a women who was able to continue to do what she loved despite her own father having a sexist view on women. (Only hiring men)
I would love to know about how you decided to write about Rosalind. Do you relate to her in any way? How did this make you feel while writing it?
Hi Melanie,
DeleteThis is Professor Vinson commenting on Beth's behalf. I hope you do become a scientist someday! There are some really great programs out there for emerging stellar scientists such as yourself! Do you think you will go to UMass Lowell someday? If so, I can put you in touch with some really amazing science professors who are devoted to getting young women like you in the field.
To answer your question, Beth writes to Lily above:
"To answer your question, I had a list of women to choose from, and there were about half of them left. To be honest, unlike many of you here in the comments, I had never heard of her, which I find quite shameful. I don't remember learning of even so much as her name in school.
I chose Rosalind Franklin because I also am inspired by science- I started my career at UML as a science major, though I've since switched. I wish I had had a more inspirational forethought to my research and this article, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn more about powerful women!"