On Apr. 25, 1953, Nature published James Watson’s and Francis Crick’s 900-word manuscript describing the double helical structure of DNA one of the key discoveries of the century.

Watson and Crick shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Maurice Wilkins for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nuclear acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.

Rosalind Franklin, whose work contributed to the discovery, died before this date and the rules do not allow a Nobel Prize to be awarded posthumously. (Photos: ﾩ The Nobel Foundation)