page_title: Rosalind Franklin
section_title: Posthumous recognition
hierarchical_section_title: Rosalind Franklin / Awards and honours / Posthumous recognition
caption_attribution_description: English: Franklin-Wilkins Building King's College London
context_page_description: Rosalind Elsie Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely recognised posthumously.
  Franklin was educated at a private day school at Norland Place in West London, Lindores School for Young Ladies in Sussex, and St Paul's Girls' School, London. Then she studied the Natural Sciences Tripos at Newnham College, Cambridge, from which she graduated in 1941. Earning a research fellowship, she joined the University of Cambridge physical chemistry laboratory under Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, who disappointed her for his lack of enthusiasm. The British Coal Utilisation Research Association offered her a research position in 1942 and started her work on coals. This helped her earn a Ph.D. in 1945. She went to Paris in 1947 as a chercheur under Jacques Mering at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'Etat, where she became an accomplished X-ray crystallographer.
context_section_description: 1982, Iota Sigma Pi designated Franklin a National Honorary Member.
  1984, St Paul's Girls School established the Rosalind Franklin Technology Centre.
  1992, English Heritage placed a blue plaque commemorating Franklin on the building in Drayton Gardens, London, where she lived until her death.
  1993, King's College London renamed the Orchard Residence at itsHampstead Campus as Rosalind Franklin Hall.
  1993, King's College London placed a blue plaque on its outside wall bearing the inscription: "R. E. Franklin, R. G. Gosling, A. R. Stokes, M. H. F. Wilkins, H. R. Wilson – King's College London – DNA – X-ray diffraction studies – 1953."
  1995, Newnham College, Cambridge opened a graduate residence named Rosalind Franklin Building, and put a bust of her in its garden.
  1997, Birkbeck, University of London School of Crystallography opened the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory.
  1997, a newly discovered asteroid was named 9241 Rosfranklin.
  1998, National Portrait Gallery in London added Rosalind Franklin's portrait next to those of Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins.
  1999, the Institute of Physics at Portland Place, London, renamed its theatre as Franklin Lecture Theatre.
  2000, King's College London opened the Franklin–Wilkins Building in honour of Franklin's and Wilkins's work at the college.
  2001, the American National Cancer Institute established the Rosalind E. Franklin Award for women in cancer research.
  2002, the University of Groningen, supported by the European Union, launched the Rosalind Franklin Fellowship to encourage women researchers to become full university professors.
  2003, the Royal Society established the Rosalind Franklin Award (officially the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award and Lecture) for an outstanding contribution to any area of natural science, engineering or technology. The award consists of a silver-coated medal and a grant of £30,000.
  2003, the Royal Society of Chemistry declared King's College London as "National Historic Chemical Landmark" and placed a plaque on the wall near the entrance of the building, with the inscription: "Near this site Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, Raymond Gosling, Alexander Stokes and Herbert Wilson performed experiments that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA. This work revolutionised our understanding of the chemistry behind life itself."
  2004, Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, located in North Chicago, Illinois, USA changed its name to the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. It also adopted a new motto "Life in Discovery", and Photo 51 as its logo.
  2004, the Gruber Foundation started the Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award for two female geneticists from all over the world. It carries an annual fund of $25,000, each award is for three years, and selection is made by a joint committee appointed by the Genetics Society of America and the American Society of Human Genetics.
  2004, the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and the APS Users Organization (APSUO) started the APSUO Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award for young scientists who made contributions through the APS.
  2005, the DNA sculpture (donated by James Watson) outside Clare College, Cambridge's Memorial Court incorporates the words "The double helix model was supported by the work of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins."
  2006, the Rosalind Franklin Society was established in New York by Mary Ann Liebert. The Society aims to recognise, foster, and advance the important contributions of women in the life sciences and affiliated disciplines.
  2008, Columbia University awarded an honorary Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to Franklin, "for her seminal contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA".
  2008, the Institute of Physics established a biennial award the Rosalind Franklin Medal and Prize.
  2012, the bioinformatics education software platform Rosalind was named in honour of Franklin.
  2012, The Rosalind Franklin Building was opened at Nottingham Trent University.
  2013, Google honoured Rosalind Franklin with a doodle, showing her ga
caption: Mural inscription on King's College London's Franklin-Wilkins Building, co-named in honour of Rosalind Franklin's work
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