Who are Watson and Crick?

James Dewey Watson was born on 6 April 1928 in Chicago and studied at the universities of Chicago, Indiana and Copenhagen. He then moved to Cambridge University. read more

James Watson and Francis Crick, 1959 © Crick and Watson, together with Maurice Wilkins, won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of the structure of DNA. This was one of the most significant scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Francis Harry Compton Crick was born on 8 June 1916 near Northampton. read more

Crick and Watson Scientists Francis Crick and James Watson, along with Maurice Wilkins jointly won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule which is the foundation for heredity. read more

When Crick and Watson won the Nobel Prize in 1962, they shared it with Wilkins. Franklin, who died in 1958 of ovarian cancer and was thus ineligible for the award, never learned of the role her photos played in the historic scientific breakthrough. read more