Bios/Profiles

By Lee Landor

[Note: This biography was originally published on A&E Television Networks’ Biography.com site in August 2012.]

Quick Facts

Name: Rosalind Franklin
Occupation: Chemist
Birth date: July 25, 1920
Death date: April 16, 1958
Education: Newnham College, Cambridge University
Place of birth: Notting Hill, London, England, United Kingdom
Place of death: London, England, United Kingdom
AKA: Rosalind Franklin
Full name: Rosalind Elsie Franklin

Best Known For

British chemist Rosalind Franklin is best known for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA, and for her pioneering use of X-ray diffraction.

Synopsis

Born in 1920 in London, England, Rosalind Franklin earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Cambridge University. She learned crystallography and X-ray diffraction, techniques that she applied to DNA fibers. One of her photographs provided key insights into DNA structure. Other scientists used it as the basis for their DNA model and took credit for the discovery. Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958, at age 37.

The Early Years

British chemist Rosalind Elsie Franklin was born into an affluent and influential Jewish family on July 25, 1920, in Notting Hill, London, England. She displayed exceptional intelligence from early childhood, knowing from the age of 15 that she wanted to be a scientist. She received her education at several schools, including North London Collegiate School, where she excelled in science, among other things.

Rosalind Franklin enrolled at Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1938 and studied chemistry. In 1941, she was awarded Second Class Honors in her finals, which, at that time, was accepted as a bachelor’s degree in the qualifications for employment. She went on to work as an assistant research officer at the British Coal Utilisation Research Association, where she studied the porosity of coal—work that was the basis of her 1945 Ph.D. thesis “The physical chemistry of solid organic colloids with special reference to coal.”

In the fall of 1946, Franklin was appointed at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l’Etat in Paris, where she worked with crystallographer Jacques Mering. He taught her X-ray diffraction, which would largely play into her discovery of “the secret of life”—the structure of DNA. In addition, Franklin pioneered the use of X-rays to create images of crystalized solids in analyzing complex, unorganized matter, not just single crystals.

Scientific Discoveries and Credit Controversy

In January 1951, Franklin began working as a research associate at the King’s College London in the biophysics unit, where director John Randall used her expertise and X-ray diffraction techniques (mostly of proteins and lipids in solution) on DNA fibers. Studying DNA structure with X-ray diffraction, Franklin and her student Raymond Gosling made an amazing discovery: They took pictures of DNA and discovered that there were two forms of it, a dry “A” form and a wet “B” form. One of their X-ray diffraction pictures of the “B” form of DNA, known as Photograph 51, became famous as critical evidence in identifying the structure of DNA. The photo was acquired through 100 hours of X-ray exposure from a machine Franklin herself had refined.

John Desmond Bernal, one of the United Kingdom’s most well-known and controversial scientists and a pioneer in X-ray crystallography, spoke highly of Franklin around the time of her death in 1958. “As a scientist Miss Franklin was distinguished by extreme clarity and perfection in everything she undertook,” he said. “Her photographs were among the most beautiful X-ray photographs of any substance ever taken.

Their excellence was the fruit of extreme care in preparation and mounting of the specimens as well as in the taking of the photographs.”

Despite her cautious and diligent work ethic, Franklin had a personality conflict with colleague Maurice Wilkins, one that would end up costing her greatly. In January 1953, Wilkins changed the course of DNA history by disclosing without Franklin’s permission or knowledge her Photo 51 to competing scientist James Watson, who was working on his own DNA model with Francis Crick at Cambridge.

Upon seeing the photograph, Watson said, “My jaw fell open and my pulse began to race,” according to author Brenda Maddox, who in 2002 wrote a book about Franklin titled Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA.

The two scientists did in fact use what they saw in Photo 51 as the basis for their famous model of DNA, which they published on March 7, 1953, and for which they received a Nobel Prize in 1962. Crick and Watson were also able to take most of the credit for the finding: When publishing their model in Nature magazine in April 1953, they included a footnote acknowledging that they were “stimulated by a general knowledge” of Franklin’s and Wilkins’ unpublished contribution, when in fact, much of their work was rooted in Franklin’s photo and findings. Randall and the Cambridge laboratory director came to an agreement, and both Wilkins’ and Franklin’s articles were published second and third in the same issue of Nature. Still, it appeared that their articles were merely supporting Crick and Watson’s.

According to Maddox, Franklin didn’t know that these men based their Nature article on her research, and she didn’t complain either, likely as a result of her upbringing. Franklin “didn’t do anything that would invite criticism … [that was] bred into her,” Maddox was quoted as saying in an October 2002 NPR interview.

Franklin left King’s College in March 1953 and relocated to Birkbeck College, where she studied the structure of the tobacco mosaic virus and the structure of RNA. Because Randall let Franklin leave on the condition that she would not work on DNA, she turned her attention back to studies of coal. In five years, Franklin published 17 papers on viruses, and her group laid the foundations for structural virology.

Illness and Death

In the fall of 1956, Franklin discovered that she had ovarian cancer. She continued working throughout the following two years, despite having three operations and experimental chemotherapy. She experienced a 10-month remission and worked up until several weeks before her death on April 16, 1958, at the age of 37.

By Lee Landor

[Note: This biography was originally published on A&E Television Networks’ Biography.com site in August 2012.]

Quick Facts

Name: Tony Scott
Occupation: Director
Birth date: July 21, 1944
Death date: August 19, 2012
Place of birth: North Shields, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom
Place of death: Los Angeles, California
AKA: Tony Scott
Full name: Anthony David Scott

Best Known For

English film director Tony Scott was best known for his first box-office success, Top Gun, as well as later films like True Romance and Enemy of the State. He was the brother of Ridley Scott, also a famed producer and director

Synopsis

Famed film director Tony Scott, born in North Shields, England on July 21, 1944, followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ridley Scott, and took an interest in the world of film. He began by joining his brother’s commercial production company, and directed many television commercials and shows. Eventually, he began directing feature films and produced several box-office successes, including Top Gun, True Romance and Enemy of the State. Despite his success, Scott was never nominated for an Oscar or other film award. He committed suicide by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles on August 19, 2012.

Early Life

Famed English film director Tony Scott was born Anthony David Scott on June 21, 1944, in North Shields, Northumberland, England. He was the youngest of three sons born to Elizabeth and Col. Francis Percy Scott, and looked up to and followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ridley Scott, who also became a noted film director and producer. Ridley cast Tony in the short film Boy and Bicycle, his directorial debut, in 1960. After that, Tony went on to attend several art schools, but turned his attention back to film in 1967, when his brother founded Ridley Scott Associates, a television commercial production outfit.

Over the two decades that followed, Tony directed thousands of television commercials for his brother’s company and took over when Ridley developed his feature film career. In the 1970s and early ’80s, Ridley’s feature films met considerable success, which directed Hollywood’s attention to Tony.

Film Career

In 1982, MGM Studios hired Tony Scott to direct the vampire film The Hunger, which starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve, and introduced Willem Dafoe, but ultimately failed to generate positive attention. Although it would later become a cult favorite, at the time of its release, the film had disappointing box-office sales.

As a result, Scott was unable to find work as a feature film director until several years later, when producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson asked him to direct Top Gun. In addition to being the Scott’s first blockbuster—which placed him ahead of his brother and made him a Hollywood A-list action director—the film was among highest-grossing films of 1986, generating more than $176 million. It also launched lead actor Tom Cruise into fame.

Scott worked Bruckheimer and Simpson again in 1987, directing the film Beverly Hills Cop II, which starred Eddie Murphy and Brigitte Nielsen, and was among that year’s highest-grossing films.

Scott continued to direct films that became box-office success throughout the 1990s and 2000s. One film that was considered a box-office failure, but nevertheless one of Scott’s most notable films, was True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary. The cast comprised several well-known actors, including Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Christopher Walken and Samuel L. Jackson.

Scott’s highest-grossing film of the ’90s was 1998’s Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman.

Recognition

Along with his brother, Tony Scott ran Scott Free Productions and worked on numerous commercials and television shows, in addition to his feature films. He collaborated with actor Denzel Washington on five different films, and throughout the duration of his career, with numerous other well-known Hollywood stars, including Robert Deniro, Wesley Snipes and Benicio del Toro.

Despite his films’ box office success, Scott was unable to acquire critical respect. He was never in the running for an Oscar, and critics often criticized his films for emphasizing style over substance, according to an August 20, 2012 article in Newsday. The article quoted Scott’s explanation in 2007 of how he gained perspective by mixing up things between commercials, television and film. “I like changing the pace of my life, changing my discipline,” Scott said. “It gives me ideas for how to see the world differently.”

Death

Scott, who was married to Donna Scott and had twin sons, jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles, California, around 12:35 p.m. on August 19, 2012. Los Angeles police pulled his body from the water several hours later. Investigators found a note containing contact information in Scott’s car, which was parked on the bridge. They also found a suicide note at his office.

Scott’s death shocked and puzzled the world; a successful member of the Hollywood elite, Scott had been working on a sequel to Top Gun in the months before his death. He had also just finished working on a four-hour A&E Television Networks miniseries, titled Coma, along with brother Ridley Scott and author Robin Cook.

He may not have won any awards, but Tony Scott certainly earned the respect of fellow Hollywood directors, including Ron Howard and Jon Favreau, both of whom used Twitter to express their sadness upon learning of his death. “No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day,” fellow director Ron Howard wrote on his Twitter page after learning of Scott’s death. In a similar post, director Jon Favreau wrote: “Such sad news about Tony Scott. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”

Additionally, Tom Cruise expressed his sorrow in a statement: “Tony was my dear friend, and I will really miss him,” Cruise said. “He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable. My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time.”

Lee Landor

Chemist Rosalind Franklin

Director Tony Scott