6 – Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958)

Although she did not receive due appreciation for her work and only lived to the age of 38, this scientist is a very important name in the history of science. She played a key role in the discovery of the structure of DNA and her work on X-ray diffraction imaging of DNA later helped Watson and Crick in their discovery of the double helix model of DNA. Her recurrent exposure to X-ray radiation may be one of the explanations for her death.

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