Overview
- He died after a short illness in a hospice, according to his son, with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory confirming his death.
- He shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for describing DNA’s double-helix structure.
- The discovery became a foundation of modern genetics, enabling gene therapy, genetic engineering, and forensic DNA identification.
- Historical accounts emphasize Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray data as crucial to the work, and Watson faced criticism for not publicly crediting her.
- His 2007 racist remarks resulted in suspension and later revocation of honorary titles by Cold Spring Harbor, and he sold his Nobel medal in 2014, which was reportedly returned to him.