Timeline May 1952

Events in May 1952 5

• 1870 – 1952 Maria Montessori Educational Pioneer Physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name.
• 1913 – 1952 John Garfield (1913-1952) American actor, a rebel hero of 1940s film whose career was cut short by the Hollywood blacklist.
• 1952 De Havilland Comet enters commercial service World's first jet airliner begins scheduled flights BOAC's De Havilland Comet flew its first commercial jet passenger service from London to Johannesburg on 2 May 1952. It cut flight times dramatically compared to propeller aircraft. A series of fatal crashes caused by metal fatigue later grounded the fleet, but the Comet had opened the jet age of air travel.
• 1952 Captures "Photo 51", the defining X-ray image of DNA She and PhD student Raymond Gosling produce the sharpest diffraction image of DNA's B-form yet made In May 1952, Franklin and her graduate student Raymond Gosling used a finely calibrated X-ray diffraction setup to capture what became known as Photo 51, an exceptionally clear image of the B-form of DNA. The image's distinctive X-shaped pattern strongly indicated a helical structure, and Franklin's careful, methodical approach meant she recognized this while also cautiously withholding a definitive interpretation until more data was gathered. The photograph is now regarded as one of the most important images in the history of biology.
• 1952 John Garfield dies in New York John Garfield dies aged 39.