Dorothy Crawford Hodgkin, a famous British chemist, was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “the determination of the structure of important biochemical substances by X-ray technique”. Dorothy devoted her life to X-ray crystallography and successfully analyzed the structures of complex molecules such as cholesterol iodide, penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin, which had far-reaching impacts on the fields of biology and medicine. Dorothy was not only an outstanding scientist, but also an important messenger to promote international scientific cooperation and maintain world peace. By reviewing Dorothy’s growth experience, scientific research achievements and social activities, this article provides two inspirations for scientific researchers: firstly, they should be persistent in exploration and climb to the academic peak; secondly, they should take up social responsibility and hold fast to their beautiful hearts.