James Watson

American molecular biologist, geneticist, zoologist and Nobel Laureate (1928-2025) · United States · Scientists · Died at 97

James Watson is read about 1,341 times a day, in 96 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?

Compare

He co-discovered the double helix in 1953 and won a Nobel for it, then spent decades running Cold Spring Harbor into a molecular biology powerhouse - until comments linking race and intelligence ended his career in disgrace.

Scientists Scientist Biology Chemistry Physics Literature Science United States

A life in dates

2026

Read more around National Medal of Science8 October 2026What this moment rests on, and 3 others were read more that weekSee the moment2025In memoriamDied6 November 20252005Honorary Doctor of the Autonomous University of BarcelonaAwardOthmer Gold MedalAward2002Canada Gairdner International AwardAward2000Mendel MedalAwardPhiladelphia Liberty MedalAward1999“Moving forward will not be for the faint of heart.”In their words11 January 1999"All for the Good: Why genetic engineering must soldier on" TIME magazine, Vol. 153, No. 1 (11 January 1999)Read the whole statement

1997“There is only one science, physics: everything else is social work.”In their wordsAs quoted in Lifelines (1997) by Steven RoseRead the whole statement

National Medal of ScienceAward1994Lomonosov Gold MedalAward1993“To have success in science, you need some luck. But to succeed in science, you need a lot more than luck.”In their words24 September 1993"Succeeding in Science: Some Rules of Thumb" in Science Vol. 261 (24 September 1993), pp. 1812-1813Read the whole statement

Copley MedalAward1992“The brain is the last and grandest biological frontier, the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe.”In their wordsForeword for Discovering the Brain (1992) by Sandra Ackerman, p. iii; often paraphrased: "The brain is the most complex thing we have yetRead the whole statement

1985EMBO MembershipAward1981Foreign Member of the Royal SocietyAward1977Presidential Medal of FreedomAward1973“Prism: But how would society react to such a proposal?”In their wordsMay 1973Children from the Laboratory (May 1973), An Interview in Prism MagazineRead the whole statement

1971John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of ScienceAward1968“I suspect that in the beginning Maurice hoped that Rosy would calm down. Yet mere inspection suggested that she would not easily bend.”In their wordsDescription of Rosalind Franklin, whose data and research were actually key factors in determining the structure of DNA, but who died inRead the whole statement

1962Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineAward1960Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical ResearchAward1928Born6 April 1928

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

James D. Watson (cropped)

17. Tagung 1967 Chemiker; Eröffnungsfeier- Harold C. Urey, Robert S. Mulliken, James D. Watson - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 083715d

17. Tagung 1967 Chemiker; Eröffnungsfeier- Harold C. Urey, Robert S. Mulliken, James D. Watson - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 083715e

17. Tagung 1967 Chemiker; Eröffnungsfeier- stehend Harold C. Urey, James D. Watson - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 083722

17. Tagung 1967 Chemiker; Verabschiedung for dem Schloss- Harold C. Urey und James D. Watson im Profil, (Gräfin Karin Bernadotte ?) rechts Lord Alexan - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 083751g

17. Tagung 1967 Chemiker; Verabschiedung for dem Schloss- Harold C. Urey, James D. Watson, Graf Lennart Bernadotte, (Gräfin Karin Bernadotte ?), Lord - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 083751e

20251019 Replica DNA double helix model Berlin 01

20251019 Replica DNA double helix model Berlin 02

In their own words 10

James Watson

10 statements, newest first

When anti-DNA doomsday scenarios failed to materialize, even the modestly restrictive governmental regulations began to wither away.
Jan 11, 1999, "All for the Good: Why genetic engineering must soldier on" in TIME magazine, Vol. 153, No. 1 (11 January 1999), Own words
Moving forward will not be for the faint of heart.
Jan 11, 1999, "All for the Good: Why genetic engineering must soldier on" TIME magazine, Vol. 153, No. 1 (11 January 1999), Own words
There is only one science, physics: everything else is social work.
1997, As quoted in Lifelines (1997) by Steven Rose, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Honorary Doctor of the Autonomous University of Barcelona2005

Othmer Gold Medal2005

Canada Gairdner International Award2002

Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire2002

Philadelphia Liberty Medal2000

Mendel Medal2000

Masaryk University Gold Medal1998

National Medal of Science1997

Lomonosov Gold Medal1994

Copley Medal1993

EMBO Membership1985

Guggenheim Fellowship1983

Foreign Member of the Royal Society1981

Presidential Medal of Freedom, Gerald Ford1977

John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science1971

Guggenheim Fellowship1965

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine1962

Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research1960

Honorary Doctor of the Hofstra University

Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award

In their orbit

Father: James Dewey Watson

About this person

Watson graduated from the University of Chicago in 1947, earned his doctorate from Indiana in 1950, and landed at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, where he met Francis Crick. In 1953 they published the double helix structure of DNA in Nature, building on Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling's research; Watson later made derogatory comments about Franklin and faced criticism for misogyny. The Nobel came in 1962, shared with Crick and Maurice Wilkins. Watson taught at Harvard from 1956 to 1976, then directed Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory starting in 1968, transforming it into a leading cancer and molecular biology research center. He helped establish the Human Genome Project between 1988 and 1992, which finished mapping the human genome in 2003. In 2007 he resigned as chancellor after claiming a genetic link between race and intelligence; in 2019, Cold Spring Harbor revoked his titles and cut all ties after he repeated the claims on camera.

Country

United States

In common with James

Michael DellAround the same time: National Medal of Science

Linus PaulingAround the same time: National Medal of Science

Sergey BrinAround the same time: National Medal of Science

Satya NadellaAround the same time: National Medal of Science

Scientists from the United States 2

Margaret Hamilton72.6

Forrest Galante71.6

Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.