William Astbury blue plaque

This blue commemorative plaque records: William T. Astbury FRS lived here from 1928 to 1961. His brilliant research at the University of Leeds deduced the chemical composition of hair and wool fibres by X-ray diffraction. In 1938 his team was the first to predict a molecular structure for DNA, which contains the hereditary instuctions present in all living organisms. 1898-1961 Recorded plaque organisation: Leeds Civic Trust.

William Astbury FRS was a pioneering British physicist and molecular biologist who made significant contributions to understanding the structure of DNA through X-ray diffraction techniques at the University of Leeds, laying foundational work for later breakthroughs in genetics.