Odile Crick
Encyclopedia
Odile Crick was a British artist best known for her drawing of the double helix structure of DNA
discovered by her husband Francis Crick
and James D. Watson
in 1953.
, Norfolk
, England
, to a French mother, Marie-Therese Josephine Jaeger and an English father, Alfred Valentine Speed, who was a jeweller.
She was an art student in Vienna
when the Nazis occupied Austria
in 1938.
Speed joined the Womens Royal Naval Service (WRNS) as a lorry driver. However, her skills in German
led to work as a code-breaker and translator at the Admiralty
where she met Francis Crick in 1945. After the war, she finished her art studies at St. Martin's
in London
.
. Odile Crick worked as a teacher at what is now Anglia Ruskin University
before the births of their daughters Gabrielle on 15 July 1951 and Jacqueline on 12 March 1954.
Crick and Watson asked her to draw an illustration of the double helix for their paper on DNA for Nature
in 1953. The sketch was reproduced widely in textbooks and scientific articles and has become the symbol for molecular biology
.
However, she was not aware at first of the importance of the discovery. In his memoir What Mad Pursuit, Crick said that she had told him later "You were always coming home and saying things like that, so naturally I thought nothing of it."
Several exhibitions have been held of Crick's paintings of curvaceous nudes. Her models included her husband's secretaries and au pair
s for their children.
The Cricks became famous for their parties in the 1960s either in Cambridge or at a cottage near Haverhill
. At one party, a nude model posed on a couch to encourage their guests to become amateur painters.
the Cricks moved to California
.
She died from cancer in La Jolla, California, aged 86, three years after her husband. The Odile Crick Memorial Exhibition of her art was held at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, on October 12, 2007
She was survived by a brother Philippe, two daughters Gabrielle and Jacqueline (1954–2011), and two grandchildren, the stepchildren of Jacqueline and her husband Christopher Nichols; her stepson, Michael (by Francis Crick's first marriage to Ruth Doreen Dodd) has four children: Alexander, Camberley, Francis, and Kindra by his wife Barbara.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
discovered by her husband Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
and James D. Watson
James D. Watson
James Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick...
in 1953.
Early life
Odile Crick was born as Odile Speed in King's LynnKing's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to a French mother, Marie-Therese Josephine Jaeger and an English father, Alfred Valentine Speed, who was a jeweller.
She was an art student in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
when the Nazis occupied Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 1938.
Speed joined the Womens Royal Naval Service (WRNS) as a lorry driver. However, her skills in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
led to work as a code-breaker and translator at the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
where she met Francis Crick in 1945. After the war, she finished her art studies at St. Martin's
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Life with Crick in Britain
The Cricks married in 1949 and lived in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. Odile Crick worked as a teacher at what is now Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
before the births of their daughters Gabrielle on 15 July 1951 and Jacqueline on 12 March 1954.
Crick and Watson asked her to draw an illustration of the double helix for their paper on DNA for Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
in 1953. The sketch was reproduced widely in textbooks and scientific articles and has become the symbol for molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
.
However, she was not aware at first of the importance of the discovery. In his memoir What Mad Pursuit, Crick said that she had told him later "You were always coming home and saying things like that, so naturally I thought nothing of it."
Several exhibitions have been held of Crick's paintings of curvaceous nudes. Her models included her husband's secretaries and au pair
Au pair
An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use...
s for their children.
The Cricks became famous for their parties in the 1960s either in Cambridge or at a cottage near Haverhill
Haverhill, Suffolk
Haverhill is an industrial market town and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England, next to the borders of Essex and Cambridgeshire. It lies southeast of Cambridge and north of central London...
. At one party, a nude model posed on a couch to encourage their guests to become amateur painters.
Life in California
When her husband became a professor at the Salk Institute in the 1970s,the Cricks moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
She died from cancer in La Jolla, California, aged 86, three years after her husband. The Odile Crick Memorial Exhibition of her art was held at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, on October 12, 2007
She was survived by a brother Philippe, two daughters Gabrielle and Jacqueline (1954–2011), and two grandchildren, the stepchildren of Jacqueline and her husband Christopher Nichols; her stepson, Michael (by Francis Crick's first marriage to Ruth Doreen Dodd) has four children: Alexander, Camberley, Francis, and Kindra by his wife Barbara.
External links to information on Francis and Odile Crick
- http://www.crick.com/odile.html Odile Crick's page (with music!) on the family web site.
Books featuring Odile Crick
- Robert OlbyRobert OlbyRobert Cecil Olby is a research professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Formerly at the University of Leeds, UK, Robert Olby is known as a historian of 19th and 20th century biology, his special fields being genetics and molecular biology...
; Oxford National Dictionary article: ‘Crick, Francis Harry Compton (1916–2004)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, January 2008; - Robert OlbyRobert OlbyRobert Cecil Olby is a research professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Formerly at the University of Leeds, UK, Robert Olby is known as a historian of 19th and 20th century biology, his special fields being genetics and molecular biology...
; "Crick: A Biography", Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,ISBN 978-087969798-3, to be published in August 2009. - Matt RidleyMatt RidleyMatthew White Ridley, FRSL, FMedSci is an English journalist, writer, biologist, and businessman.-Career:...
; Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code (Eminent Lives) first published in June 2006 in the US and in the UK September 2006, by HarperCollins Publishers; 192 pp, ISBN 0-06-082333-X.