Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was an
English chemist and
X-ray crystallographer who made contributions to the understanding of the molecular structures of
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid),
RNA (ribonucleic acid),
viruses,
coal, and
graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her contributions to the discovery of DNA were largely recognized posthumously.