James Watson Biography

836 Words2 Pages

Ryanne de Guzman Mr. Noah Scientist May 8,2014
James D. Watson
When you are building something you would most likely use a blueprint. A blueprint is the instructions to help the builder build his creation. DNA is like a blueprint for your body. DNA is like instructions to help you grow, survive, and reproduce. And thanks to James D. Watson’s discovery it revealed the understanding of living things in the means of structure and interaction molecules. Watson’s said in quote “It is necessary to be slightly underemployed if you want to do something significant.” James D. Watson was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 6, 1928. Watson is an intelligent and gifted man and helped discover the structure of DNA; his scientific knowledge as an American molecular biologist, zoologist, and geneticist attributed to his success
Watson’s parents are Jean Mitchell and James D. Watson. Most of Watson childhood was spent in Chicago here he attended Horace Mann Grammar Elementary School and South Shore High School. One of Watson’s many hobbies was bird watching with his father. This truly influenced his interest in zoology and ornithology. (Encarta)
When he was 15 he attended the University of Chicago after getting a scholarship. There he studied ornithology and zoology. After graduating in 1947 he then started attending Indiana University after g...

... middle of paper ...

...ck Africans are an average less intelligent than white people”. This was considered racism and many people took offense to his comment. This 10 word comment almost rued his career dramatically if he didn’t apologize for his actions. Watson had received many honors as well. In 1962 he won a Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine. In 1960 he won Lasker prize, in 1971 he won a Carty Gold Medal of the National Academy of Sciences . In 1977 he won a Presidential Medal of Freedom award, and in 1997 he won a national medal of science award which was awarded to him by President Bill Clinton. Watson is still alive and is 86 years old and is now retired. Through his intelligence and knowledge Watson helped discover the Structure of DNA through many obstacles and was one of the most influential keys in making this discovery such a great success.(James Dewey Watson’s Facebook)

Open Document