James Watson – an extraordinary scientist, but an intolerable racist and misogynist man

 

The “Eagle” pub on the Cambridge campus has become as famous as Cambridge University itself, having witnessed hundreds of discoveries, innovations, and achievements. A plaque on the pub’s wall commemorates one such historic moment. Seventy-two years ago, on February 28, 1953, during lunchtime, Francis Crick and James Watson walked into the crowded pub and announced that they had discovered the “structure of DNA,” the secret of life.

While taking a photo of the plaque on the wall of the Eagle Pub, I was pleased to see that it also acknowledges the contributions of Rosalind Franklin and other scientists — recognition that James Watson himself never gave.

For discovering the structure of DNA, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and James Watson were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. Both Crick and Wilkins died in 2004. The third member of the trio, James Watson, passed away on November 6, 2025.

James Watson lived a long life of 97 years. He was born on April 6, 1928, in Chicago, USA. At the age of just 15, he entered the University of Chicago with a special scholarship. He graduated in zoology at 19 and earned his Ph.D. in zoology from Indiana University in 1950. In 1951, he began postdoctoral research at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, with Francis Crick. In 1953, at only twenty-five, he co-discovered the structure of DNA.

Rosalind Franklin was also researching the structure of DNA. In 1952, she took X-ray diffraction images of DNA, and based on her work, James Watson and Francis Crick were able to determine that DNA has a “double helix” structure. Maurice Wilkins collected the X-ray data. While Watson acknowledged Wilkins’ contribution, he not only failed to credit Rosalind Franklin but also used her X-ray images without her permission to publish their discovery of DNA’s structure. Whether the Nobel Committee would have recognized Rosalind Franklin’s contribution is uncertain, as she passed away in 1958 at the age of only 37 — four years before the Nobel Prize for the DNA discovery was announced in 1962.

After receiving the Nobel Prize, James Watson naturally achieved worldwide fame. From 1956 to 1976, he served as a professor of zoology at Harvard University. In 1968, he became the director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Under his leadership, the institution made significant contributions to molecular genetics and cancer research. From 1994 to 2003, he served as its president, and from 2003 to 2007, as its chancellor. From 2007 to 2019, he remained one of its leading scientists and esteemed members. However, in 2019, due to his racist views and remarks, he was removed from all positions at the institution, and all honours previously bestowed upon him were revoked.

Winning a Nobel Prize does not automatically make someone a great human being — and James Watson is one of the clearest examples of that. His contributions to science and research are undeniable. He led the Human Genome Project and strongly opposed granting copyright over genetic research, ensuring that genetic studies did not become the property of large corporations.

However, all his good work was tainted by his deep-rooted misogyny. In his 1968 memoir The Double Helix, he not only failed to acknowledge Rosalind Franklin’s scientific contributions but also made many disparaging remarks about her. Instead of highlighting her brilliance, he focused on trivial personal observations — that she didn’t wear fashionable clothes, didn’t use lipstick, and lacked feminine charm. Yet, he never once admitted that without Franklin’s X-ray diffraction images, it would have been impossible for them to decipher the structure of DNA so easily.

In the early 20th century, women’s participation in science was largely forbidden. Men often appreciated women’s charm far more than their intellectual abilities. Despite these barriers, by the late 20th century, women had made significant progress in scientific fields, and male attitudes began to change. Society no longer tolerates open misogyny and racism as it once did. But James Watson remained untouched by such change.

He continued to express his sexist views openly. He once argued that through genetic modification, all women could be made “beautiful.” He believed that an increase in the number of women in science would motivate men to work harder, thereby improving men’s performance — but that women themselves would not show similar intellectual advancement.

Watson also made absurd remarks about human physical traits. According to him, thin people are naturally unhappy and therefore more efficient at work, while fat people are inherently happy and thus less competent — so, in his view, overweight people should not be hired.

The most appalling aspect of Watson’s mindset was his attitude toward Black people. He bluntly claimed that Black people have lower IQs because of their DNA. In other words, he believed that no amount of social, economic, or political progress could improve their overall condition, since their genetic makeup was inherently inferior.

One of the admirable aspects of modern civilization is that such uncivilized views are no longer tolerated. Even a Nobel laureate is not above accountability when harbouring such beliefs. Watson eventually faced the consequences of his attitudes. The scientific community condemned his views; he lost his job and his honours. His situation became so dire that, in 2014, he auctioned off his Nobel Prize medal. It was bought by a Russian billionaire named Alisher Usmanov for nearly 4.8 million US dollars.

James Watson has passed away. History will acknowledge his great achievements, but it will also condemn his failings. History spares no one — and the history of science is even more unforgiving.

If I were to describe James Watson in just a few words, I would say that as a scientist he was extraordinary, but as a human being he was an intolerable racist and misogynist man.

Farewell, James Watson.