American biologist James Watson, a towering figure in molecular science credited with co-discovering the double-helix structure of DNA, has died at 97, leaving behind a legacy both foundational and deeply controversial due to his later racist remarks.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, where Watson conducted decades of research, confirmed his passing.
Watson, alongside Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, famously unveiled the structure of DNA in 1953.
This pivotal breakthrough, significantly aided by Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray crystallography images, revolutionized the understanding of genetics. It established the bedrock of modern molecular biology.
The trio received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for their seminal work.
However, Watson’s later life was increasingly defined by public statements linking race and intelligence. These comments were widely condemned as unscientific and discriminatory.
In a 2007 interview with Times magazine, he expressed a “gloomy” outlook on Africa, suggesting that social policies were based on an incorrect belief in equal intelligence among races.
The backlash led to his removal from the chancellorship of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Controversy reignited in 2019 when Watson reiterated similar views in another interview.
In response, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory stripped him of all honorary titles and positions. The institution issued a statement declaring his remarks “reprehensible and unscientific.”
Further illustrating his estrangement, Watson sold his Nobel gold medal at auction in 2014. It fetched approximately $4.8 million.
He stated the sale was due to feeling ostracized by the scientific community following his controversial comments on race.
Despite the personal controversies, Watson’s scientific contribution to deciphering DNA’s structure remains an indelible cornerstone of humanity’s understanding of genetics, profoundly altering medicine and global science.