Francis Crick's Birth Anniversary

 

Francis Crick, born on 8 June 1916, in Holmfield Way, Northampton, United Kingdom, was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He is best known for his work with James Watson which led to the identification of the structure of DNA in 1953, drawing on the work of Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and others.

This discovery proved to be of enormous importance to biomedical research - and to life and health - and earned Crick, Watson and Wilkins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962.

Crick began his scientific career in physics, obtaining a BSc from University College London in 1937. During World War Two he worked as a scientist for the Admiralty Research Laboratory, working on the design of magnetic and acoustic mines.

In 1947, Crick made the transition from physics into biology, which he described as "almost as if one had to be born again". His early studies at Cambridge were supported by a studentship from the Medical Research Council (MRC). 

In 1949, Crick joined the MRC unit headed by Max Perutz, which subsequently became the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. During this period, he worked on the X-ray crystallography of proteins, obtaining his PhD in 1954.