William Astbury: Forgotten hero of DNA’s discovery | Letter from Dr Kersten Hall

Following the opening of the new play Photo 51 (Kidman proves drama is in DNA of science, 15 September), the figure of Rosalind Franklin will rightfully receive much public interest for her long neglected but nonetheless crucial role in the story of DNA. Her x-ray image of B-form DNA, after which the play is named, is hailed on a plaque outside King's College London as being "one of the most important photographs in the world" and James Watson famously said in his memoir The Double Helix that, on seeing this photograph, his mouth fell open and his pulse began to race.

One can only wonder how differently the history of science might have unfolded had the British scientist William Astbury reacted with similar excitement to James Watson. For nearly a year before Franklin and her PhD student Raymond Gosling took Photo 51, Astbury and his research assistant Elwyn Beighton had obtained an almost identical x-ray image of DNA.