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James Watson dies: DNA pioneer's racist comments, controversies resurface
James D. Watson who helped identify the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule, died on Thursday at the age of 97.
James D. Watson who helped identify the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule, died on Thursday at the age of 97. He breathed his last in East Northport, New York, on Long Island.
Watson's son confirmed the news of his death and said that he'd been moved to a hospice after being treated for an infection in a hospital, as per New York Times. His role in decoding DNA, the genetic blueprint for life, has made Watson one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. He also led the ambitious Human Genome Project.
Also Read | James Watson dies: Why Nobel-winning scientist lost his titles, sold his medal in 2014
However, Watson has also made numerous racist remarks in the past and has been mired in controversy as a result. Here is a look at some of his racist comments and beliefs.
James D Watson racist comments and beliefs
Watson had made controversial remarks about race and genetics in 2007 and doubled down on it in 2018. He had courted controversy with the belief that there's a genetic link between race and intelligence.
He had said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" as "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - where all the testing says not really".
Watson's belief was debunked in modern science with a 2009 study using his own DNA to disprove any such link. Watson’s genetic data and that of Craig Venter were compared to that of Korean scientist, Seong-Jin Kim. Both Watson and Venter were found to have more genetic similarities to Kim than to each other.
He courted controversy by suggesting a link between skin color and libido as well. In 2000, the late scientist had suggested that melanin boosted the sex drive. “That's why you have Latin lovers. You've never heard of an English lover. Only an English patient,” he had said.
In a 2007 interview with Esquire, Watson had said some of the ‘anti-Semitism’ was justified. “Just like some anti-Irish feeling is justified. If you can’t be criticized, that’s very dangerous. You lose the concept of a free society,” he'd said.
Many mourn Watson's demise
Many who mourned Watson's demise shared his past comments and lamented that he'd been canceled by ‘woke’ institutions.
“RIP Dr. James Watson maybe one of the last true Geniuses of our lifetime. Nobel peace prize winner for Discovery of the double helix of DNA. He was cancelled by the Woke institutions if you can't speak the truth in science where can you? MSM seems to be ignoring his passing,” a person wrote on X.
Edward Dutton, who wrote a biography on Watson, mentioned “Rest In Peace James Watson, the only living genius; cancelled by our insane, Woke, anti-genius world for telling the truth. Honoured to have written the final biography of him, 'Genius Under House Arrest,' in which I proved everything he said was correct.” Yet another remarked, “RIP James Watson. A generational genius cancelled for refusing to lie about his own field of genetic science.”
