Francis Crick, along with his colleague James Watson, discovered the molecular structure of DNA.

Crick had been fascinated by science since he was a child, going on to complete a degree in physics from University College London. His research to gain a PhD was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he worked for the Admiralty Research Laboratory. During this time Crick contributed to the design of a new type of mine used by the British Navy.

After the war, Crick turned to the life sciences, in 1949 joining the Medical Research Council Unit at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. It was here that he met James Watson.

The two researchers used X-Ray diffraction studies by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins to build a double-helix model of the molecular structure of DNA. In 1962 Crick, Watson, and Wilkins received the Nobel Price in Medicine for this discovery.