Watson

James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA. more...

Home
Antiquities
Architectural & Garden
Asian Antiques
Books, Manuscripts
Decorative Arts
Ethnographic
Furniture
Maps, Atlases, Globes
Maritime
Musical Instruments
Other Antiques
Primitives
Rugs, Carpets
Science & Medicine
Silver
Coin Silver
Silverplate
Sterling
Bowls
Boxes
Candlesticks, Candelabra
Cups, Goblets
Dishes
Flatware
Alvin
Dominick & Haff
Durgin
Georg Jensen
Gorham, Whiting
International/1847 Rogers
Kirk
Lunt
Manchester
Oneida/Wm. A. Rogers
Other Brands
Reed & Barton
Royal Crest, Castle
Stieff
Tiffany
Towle
Unknown
Wallace
Watson
Westmorland
Miniatures
Napkin Rings, Clips
Other Sterling
Pitchers, Vases, Jugs
Platters, Trays
Salt Cellars, S&P Shakers
Souvenir spoons
Sugar Bowls, Tongs
Teapots & Sets
Vases, Urns
Textiles, Linens

Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine \"for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material\". He studied at the University of Chicago and Indiana University and subsequently worked at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory in England where he first met Francis Crick.

In 1956 he became a faculty member of Harvard University's Biological Laboratories until 1976, but in 1968 served as Director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York and shifted its research emphasis to the study of cancer. In 1994 he became its President for ten years, and then subsequently served as its Chancellor until 2007. Between 1988 and 1992 he was associated with the National Institutes of Health, helping to establish the Human Genome Project. He has written many science books, including the seminal textbook \"The Molecular Biology of the Gene\" (1965) and his bestselling book \"The Double Helix\" (1968) about the DNA Structure discovery.

Early life

Watson was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 6, 1928, the son of a businessman, also named James Dewey Watson and Margaret Jean Mitchell . His father was of midwestern English descent. His mother's father Lauchlin Mitchell, a tailor, was from Glasgow, Scotland, and her mother, Lizzie Gleason, was the child of Irish parents from Tipperary. Watson was fascinated with bird watching, a hobby he shared with his father. Quiz Kids, a popular radio show that challenged precocious youngsters to answer questions. Thanks to the liberal policy of University president Robert Hutchins, he enrolled at the University of Chicago at the age of 15. After reading Erwin Schrödinger's book What Is Life? in 1946, Watson changed his professional ambitions from the study of ornithology to genetics. He earned his B.S. in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1947. In his autobiography, Avoid Boring People, Watson describes the University of Chicago as an idyllic academic institution where he was instilled with the capacity for critical thought and an ethical compulsion not to suffer fools who impeded his search for truth, in contrast to his description of his later work at Harvard University.

Read more at Wikipedia.org