Overview
- Watson died on November 6, 2025 at age 97, prompting fresh assessments of his life and influence.
- In 1953 he and Francis Crick described DNA’s double helix, work that earned the 1962 Nobel and helped launch modern molecular biology.
- He later led Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and helped start the Human Genome Project, shaping research agendas for decades.
- Use of Rosalind Franklin’s Photo 51 and unpublished data underpinned the breakthrough and has fueled long-running debates over credit and ethics.
- Repeated remarks about race, sex and sexuality—most notably a 2007 comment linking African intelligence to genetics—led CSHL to strip titles in 2007 and revoke emeritus status in 2020, as groups like ASHG condemned his claims as lacking scientific foundation.