James Watson
Born
James Dewey Watson

(1928-04-06) April 6, 1928 (age 91)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityUnited States
Alma mater
  • University of Chicago (B.S., 1947)
  • Indiana University (Ph.D., 1950)
Known for
  • DNA structure
  • Molecular biology
Spouse(s)
Elizabeth Watson (née Lewis) (m. 1968)
Children2
Awards
  • Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1960)
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1962)
  • Nobel Prize (1962)
  • John J. Carty Award (1971)
  • Foreign Member of the Royal Society (1981)
  • EMBO Membership (1985)
  • Copley Medal (1993)
  • Lomonosov Gold Medal (1994)
Scientific career
FieldsGenetics
Institutions
  • Indiana University
  • Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
  • Laboratory of Molecular Biology
  • Harvard University
  • University of Cambridge
  • National Institutes of Health
ThesisThe Biological Properties of X-Ray Inactivated Bacteriophage (1951)
Doctoral advisorSalvador Luria
Doctoral students
  • Mario Capecchi
  • Bob Horvitz
  • Peter B. Moore
  • Joan Steitz
Other notable students
  • Ewan Birney
  • Ronald W. Davis (postdoc)
  • Phillip Allen Sharp (postdoc)
  • Richard J. Roberts (postdoc)
  • John Tooze (postdoc)