James D. Watson

James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is one of the discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule. Born in Chicago, he has been fascinated by birds since he was a child due to the influence of his father. At the age of 12, he starred on the Quiz Kids, a popular radio show that challenged precocious youngsters to answer difficult questions. Thanks to the liberal policy of Robert Hutchins, he enrolled at the age of 15 at the University of Chicago. After reading Erwin Schrodinger's book What Is Life? in 1946, he changed his direction from ornithology to genetics. Watson earned a B.Sc. in Zoology in 1947.

Further reading

• James D. Watson and Francis H. Crick. "Letters to Nature: Molecular structure of Nucleic Acid." Nature 171, 737–738 (1953). Additional information about this famous journal article is at this Wikipedia page: Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids.
• James D. Watson, ', Atheneum, 1980, ISBN 0689706022 (first published in 1968)
• Molecular biology of the gene (5th edition) by James D. Watson, Tania A. Baker, Stephen P. Bell, Alexander Gann, Michael Levine, Richard Losick Publisher: Benjamin Cummings (2003) ISBN: 080534635X
• James D. Watson, Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix, Random House, January, 2002, hardcover, 259 pages, ISBN 0375412832
• James D. Watson and Andrew Berry, DNA: The Secret of Life, Random House, April, 2003, hardcover, 464 pages, ISBN 0375415467