Barbara McClintock won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1983, but some historians compared her award to the Francois Jacob's and Jacques Monod's 1965 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
McClintock was awarded "for her discovery of mobile genetic elements", while Jacob and Monod (and Lwoff) were awarded "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis"
Although McClintock's work were performed on maize and were published in the 1950s, while Jacob-Monod's work were performed on bacteria (which is academically more popular and important than maize) in the 1960s, the scientific community en masse began noticing the importance and relevance of McClintock's contribution only after Jacob-Monod's discovery. Some historians questioned why McClintock's work had to depend on Jacob-Monod's discovery to gain appreciation and acknowledgements, and suggested that McClintock was a victim of gender discrimination.
McClintock was inducted to the National Women Hall of Fame in 1986, and passed away in 1992 at the age of 90; she never married and never had any children. She was the biographic subject of several writings.
The info for this post were taken from Wikipedia (keyword Barbara McClintock) and the Nobel Foundation (www.nobel.se, keyword McClintock). McClintock's image is taken from the Nobel Foundation.
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