When was Francis Crick born?

Francis Crick was born on 8 June 1916 in Northampton.

Where did Francis Crick study?

Francis Crick was educated at University College London, Gonville and Caius College, Mill Hill School, University of Cambridge.

Francis_Crick.png : Photo: Marc Lieberman, per… · CC BY 2.5

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Francis Crick

British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (1916–2004)

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Francis Harry Compton Crick (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the helical structure of the DNA molecule.

Quick facts

Born: 8 June 1916 wd
Place of birth: Northampton wd
Died: 28 July 2004 wd
Place of death: La Jolla wd
Citizenship: United Kingdom wd
Occupation: biologist, geneticist, physicist, neuroscientist, biochemist, molecular biologist wd
Education: University College London, Gonville and Caius College, Mill Hill School, University of Cambridge, Northampton School for Boys wd
Spouse: Odile Crick wd

Awards wd

Fellow of the Royal Society
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1960)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1962)
Order of Merit
Copley Medal (1975)
Royal Medal (1972)
Philadelphia Liberty Medal
Canada Gairdner International Award (1962)
EMBO Membership
Grand Prix Charles-Leopold Mayer (1961)
Sir Hans Krebs Medal (1977)
Albert Medal (1987)
Croonian Medal and Lecture (1966)
Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
Mendel Medal (1966)

About

Crick and Watson's paper in Nature in 1953 laid the groundwork for understanding DNA structure and functions. Together with Maurice Wilkins, they were jointly awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".

Crick was an important theoretical molecular biologist and played a crucial role in research related to revealing the helical structure of DNA. He is widely known for the use of the term "central dogma" to summarise the idea that once information is transferred from nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) to proteins, it cannot flow back to nucleic acids. In other words, the final step in the flow of information from nucleic acids to proteins is irreversible.

During the remainder of his career, Crick held the post of J.W. Kieckhefer Distinguished Research Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. His later research centred on theoretical neurobiology and attempts to advance the scientific study of human consciousness. Crick remained in this post until his death in 2004; "he was editing a manuscript on his death bed, a scientist until the bitter end" according to Christof Koch.

Questions

When was Francis Crick born?: Francis Crick was born on 8 June 1916 in Northampton.
Where did Francis Crick study?: Francis Crick was educated at University College London, Gonville and Caius College, Mill Hill School, University of Cambridge.

Sources

Last updated 31 October 2026 · facts checked 5 November 2026

Cite this page

"Francis Crick". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/francis-crick. Retrieved 5 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Francis Crick, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Francis Crick crop.jpg — Francis_Crick.png : Photo: Marc Lieberman, per ticket:2015100910022707 derivative work: Materialscientist ( talk ), CC BY 2.5.

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