James Watson
1928 – 2025 American biologist
The co-discoverer of the structure of DNA.
- Religion
- An outspoken atheist who dismissed religion as incompatible with science.
- Affiliations
- Nobel laureate; long led Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. His later reputation was gravely damaged by racist statements. No secret society.
Watson, with Francis Crick, determined the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, one of the defining discoveries of modern science. He went on to help lead the Human Genome Project. His legacy is clouded by repeated racist claims about intelligence, which cost him his honors.
Connections
- ally of Francis Crick — They discovered the DNA double helix together in 1953.
In the timeline
- 1953 The structure of DNA mentioned