2007-04-26 April 25, 1953 - Francis Crick and James Watson publish their classic paper describing the double helix structure of the DNA.

April 25, 1953 - Francis Crick and James Watson publish their classic paper describing the double helix structure of the DNA.

James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, best known as one of the discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".Born in Chicago, Illinois on April 6th, 1928, Watson has been fascinated with bird watching since he was a child due to the influence of his father, James D. Watson, a businessman. 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. During his years as a student, he avoided chemistry classes as often as he could. After reading Erwin Schrödinger's book What Is Life? in 1946, he changed his direction from ornithology to genetics. He earned his B.Sc. in Zoology in 1947.Read more:# James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Atheneum, 1980, ISBN 0-689-70602-2 (first published in 1968)# James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (Norton Critical Editions), Norton, 1981, ISBN 0-393-95075-1.(can be purchased here: http://www.mansionbooks.com/BookDetail.php?bk=206)