The American molecular biologist who helped unlock the structure of DNA and transformed modern biology, James Watson, has died at the age of 97.
His death was confirmed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the New York-based research institution where he worked for decades.
Watson, alongside British scientist Francis Crick, revealed the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century.
The discovery laid the foundation for rapid advances in genetics and biotechnology.
In 1962, Watson shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Crick and Maurice Wilkins for their groundbreaking work on DNA.
“We have discovered the secret of life,” the trio famously declared at the time.
Despite his scientific brilliance, Watson’s reputation suffered due to a series of controversial remarks about race and intelligence.
In a 2007 interview with The Times, he said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa,” claiming that “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, whereas all the testing says not really.”
The backlash from those comments led to his removal as chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Further remarks in 2019, in which he again suggested a genetic link between race and intelligence prompted the institution to revoke his remaining honorary titles, including chancellor emeritus, Oliver R. Grace professor emeritus, and honorary trustee.
“Dr Watson’s statements are reprehensible, unsupported by science,” the laboratory said at the time.
Watson’s scientific journey began long before fame and controversy. Born in Chicago in April 1928 to Jean and James Watson, descendants of English, Scottish, and Irish settlers, he won a scholarship to the University of Chicago at just 15.
There, he developed a fascination with X-ray diffraction, a technique that reveals the atomic structure of molecules.
His pursuit of DNA research led him to the University of Cambridge, where he met Crick. Using X-ray images taken by Rosalind Franklin at King’s College London, reportedly without her knowledge, the two built a physical model of the DNA molecule.
Wilkins, Franklin’s colleague, also contributed to determining the structure and later shared in the Nobel recognition.
Following his discovery, Watson became a professor of biology at Harvard University, where he and his wife, Elizabeth, settled and raised two sons, one of whom lived with schizophrenia.
In 1968, Watson took the helm of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, transforming it into one of the world’s leading centers for molecular biology research.
Feeling ostracized from the scientific community after his controversial comments, Watson auctioned off his Nobel gold medal in 2014, saying he wanted to “let it go.” The medal sold for $4.8 million (£3.6 million) to a Russian billionaire, who later returned it to him.
Watson’s life remains a complex legacy — a man celebrated for uncovering “the secret of life,” yet criticized for views that isolated him from the very world he helped revolutionise.
