Short biography of James Dewey Watson

James Dewey Watson was born on April 6^th, 1928 in Chicago. His father D. James Watson was a businessman and his mother was Jean Mitchell.His father was also a tax collector of Scottish ancestry. As a child, he was bright and inquisitive. One of his favorite words was "why?" and he wasn't satisfied with simple answers.

At the age of 15 Watson entered the University of Chicago. He did well in courses that interested him, like Zoology and Biology, and not as well in other courses. He decided that he would go to graduate school and study to become the curator of ornithology at the Museum of Natural History.In 1950 he received  his Ph.D degree in Zoology. After his Ph.D. in 1950, Watson spent time in Europe, first in Copenhagen and then at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. By now, Watson knew that DNA was the key to understanding life and he was determined to solve its structure. James Watson gained worldwide fame and prominence as the joint author of the four scientific papers between 1953 and 1954.

During the 1960s, Watson became one of the most celebrated science writers, as he published his textbook “Molendor Biology of the Gene” in 1965, and his best-selling autobiographical book “The Double Helix” in 1968. Watson became the undisputed leading voice in the whole of American science. In 1962, Watson shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins who, with Rosalind Franklin, provided the data on which the structure was based.

 Watson has been described by many as brilliant, outspoken and eccentric. One of his major interests is education. Watson is unmarried. His recreations are bird-watching and walking. Watson is an avid tennis player and  he still tries to play tennis every day.