In one of the greatest breakthroughs of the 20th century, he identified the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 alongside a British scientist, Francis Crick, setting the stage for rapid advances in molecular biology.
But his reputation and standing were badly hurt by his comments on race and sex. In a TV programme, he made a reference to a disputed view that genes cause differences between blacks and white people on IQ tests.
The death of Watson was confirmed to the BBC by
Watson shared the Nobel in 1962 with Maurice Wilkins and Crick for the DNA’s double helix structure discovery.
“We have discovered the secret of life,” they said at the time.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he worked and researched for decades.
