Tomb of Rosalind Franklin

Tomb of Rosalind Franklin, 1958, in Willesden United Synagogue Jewish Cemetery. The grave is located within the Franklin family enclosure in the north-eastern part of the cemetery, approximately 38m to the E of the funerary prayer hall complex.

MATERIALS: grey-veined white marble

DESCRIPTION: a horizontal rectangular tablet, in two stages, with the incised inscription: ‘IN MEMORY OF / ROSALIND ELSIE FRANKLIN / [Hebrew lettering here represents the Hebrew name of the deceased] / DEARLY LOVED ELDER DAUGHTER OF / ELLIS AND MURIEL FRANKLIN / 25TH JULY 1920 – 16TH APRIL 1958 / SCIENTIST / HER RESEARCH AND DISCOVERIES ON / VIRUSES REMAIN OF LASTING BENEFIT / TO MANKIND / [Hebrew lettering here represents an abbreviation of 1 Samuel, 25:29, ‘May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life’ (this inscription is frequently found on Jewish tombstones)].

There is no mention in the inscription of her work in the discovery of the structure of DNA, as the importance of that discovery had not yet become generally well-known at the time of her death.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 09/03/2017