-
Crick was born
Francis Harry Compton Crick was born on June 8th, 1916, at Northampton, England -
Period: to
Francis Crick's Life
-
Francis Crick went to college
He studied physics at University College, London, obtained a B.Sc. in 1937, and started research for a Ph.D. , but this was interrupted by the outbreak of war in 1939. -
Personal relationships
In 1940 Crick married Ruth Doreen Dodd. Their son, Michael F. C. Crick is a scientist. They were divorced in 1947. In 1949 Crick married Odile Speed. They have two daughters, Gabrielle A. Crick and Jacqueline M. T. Crick. -
War
During the war he worked as a scientist for the British Admiralty, mainly in connection with magnetic and acoustic mines. He left the Admiralty in 1947 to study biology. -
No biology!
In 1947 Crick knew no biology and practically no organic chemistry or crystallography, so that much of the next few years was spent in learning the elements of these subjects. During this period, together with W. Cochran and V. Vand he worked out the general theory of X-ray diffraction -
Got his first job
Supported by a studentship from the Medical Research Council and with some financial help from his family, Crick went to Cambridge and worked at the Strangeways Research Laboratory. In 1949 he joined the Medical Research Council Unit headed by M. F. Perutz of which he has been a member ever since. -
Practiced research for the second time
He became a research student for the second time in 1950, being accepted as a member of Caius College, Cambridge, and obtained a Ph.D. -
Met and became partners with J.D. Watson
A critical influence in Crick's career was his friendship, beginning in 1951, with J. D. Watson, then a young man of 23, leading in 1953 to the proposal of the double-helical structure for DNA and the replication scheme. Crick and Watson subsequently suggested a general theory for the structure of small viruses. -
Crick wins awards
Crick was made an F.R.S. in 1959. He was awarded the Prix Charles Leopold Meyer of the French Academy of Sciences in 1961, and the Award of Merit of the Gairdner Foundation in 1962. Together with J. D. Watson he was a Warren Triennial Prize Lecturer in 1959 and received a Research Corporation Award in 1962. -
Got a big job opportunity
In 1962 moved into a large new building - the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology - on the New Hospital site. -
Sad Day
Francis Crick died on July 28, 2004.
