1. Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958)

1. Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958) Contribution: Discovery of DNA's Double Helix Structure While James Watson and Francis Crick are often credited with the discovery of the DNA double helix, their work would have been impossible without the foundational contributions of Rosalind Franklin. Franklin, a brilliant X-ray crystallographer, captured "Photo 51," a pivotal image showing the helical structure of DNA. Her meticulous research provided the critical data that Watson and Crick used to construct their famous model. Tragically, Franklin passed away at the age of 37, and her contributions were largely overshadowed during her lifetime. Today, she is slowly gaining recognition as a key figure in molecular biology.