History of DNA timeline

  • Miescher

    In 1869, Friedrich Miescher isolated "nuclein," DNA with associated proteins, from cell nuclei. He was the first to identify DNA as a distinct molecule.
  • Theodore Boveri

    Theodore Boveri describes cell division to produce gametes (meiosis).
  • Walter Sutton

    Walter Sutton deduces that chromosomes separate for reproduction. This becomes the basis for the chromosome theory of inheritance, to become official two years later.
  • Griffith

    Griffith's experiment discovering the "transforming principle" in pneumococcus bacteria
  • Avery

    Oswald Avery's team proves that DNA, not protein, is the genetic molecule.
  • Chargaff

    Erwin Chargaff’s research paved the way for the discoveries of DNA’s structure and its method of replication.
  • Franklin & Wilkins

    Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA.
  • Hershey & Chase

    Hershey and Chase did two experiments to prove that DNA is the carrier of the genetic information.
  • Watson & Crick

    James Watson and Francis Crick solved the structure of DNA.