Rosalind Franklin

(25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958) 

While watching Warehouse 13 tonight a person was mentioned who was totally unknown to me.  Since this is her birthday, and she really should get the well earned credit now that bypassed her except in very narrow circles during her lifetime.

Meet the lady who helped Watson and Crick win a Nobel Prize simply because she published her work third that they had based their work on before she published.  Because the Nobel nominations cannot be posthumous, she could not be nominated or awarded the prize despite her contributions prior to her death.

Wikipedia has an excellent article on Rosalind Franklin and she is well worth the effort to pursue farther.