Series IV: Articles and Clippings (JDW/2/4), 1919 - 2018

The Articles and Clippings series contains magazines, newspaper, and journal clippings collected by Dr. Watson and his staff throughout his career. The series is divided into four subseries: By Watson, About Watson, Intact Magazines, and Other Clippings.



The By Watson subseries (JDW/2/4/1) is composed of clippings of articles written by Watson. The earliest, entitled “A Syllabus on Procedures, Facts, and Interpretations in Phage,” was published in 1950. Watson continued to publish scientific papers throughout the 1960s, mostly concerning RNA. Starting in 1968 he began publishing articles and essays in popular publications such as The Atlantic Monthly and The New Republic. Throughout the 1970s he spoke out in favor of easing restrictions on recombinant DNA research, which he believed was being unfairly demonized and overly regulated. In the late 1980s Watson became the director of the Human Genome Project, and he published several essays in support of the mapping project. He continued to publish essays and editorials on the double helix, cancer, and scientific research for the rest of his life.



For manuscripts of individual works and correspondence with publishers please see: Personal Papers: Manuscripts: Papers, Articles, and Other Works (JDW/2/3/1)



For obituaries written by Watson please see: Personal Papers: Subjects: Biographies and Obituaries (JDW/2/7/1)



The About Watson subseries (JDW/2/4/2) contains a large amount of newspaper and magazine clippings related to Dr. Watson. The earliest date to the 1940s and were collected from local Chicago newspapers. The clippings document his entire scientific career, starting with the discovery of the double helix in 1953. In 1962 Watson received the Nobel Prize for the discovery and the amount of clippings increases significantly. For additional Nobel Prize clippings please see: Personal Papers: Nobel Prize (JDW/2/13). While teaching at Harvard it appears as though Watson’s staff collected clippings for him, and these have been labeled “Harvard Clippings.” In 1968 Watson became the director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and he also married Elizabeth Lewis; these two events are the subject of several articles written during that year. In the early 1970s he became an advocate for cancer research, and the clippings largely reflect this. Starting in the mid-1970s he often spoke out in favor of recombinant DNA research. In the 1980s biotechnology and the Human Genome Project are the main topic of the clippings. For more HGP clippings please see: Personal Papers: Human Genome Project series (JDW/2/9). The CSHL Office of Public Affairs began collecting Watson clippings sometime in the 1990s and the CSHL Library and Archives collected related clippings in the 2000s. The 50th anniversary of the double helix discovery elicited a large amount of press coverage. These articles can be found in the 2003 clippings. Watson has been known to make controversial statements throughout his career, and these controversies are documented throughout the About Watson subseries. The subseries also includes obituaries of his co-recipients of the Nobel Prize: Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins.



The Intact Magazines subseries (JDW/2/4/3) consists of unclipped publications containing articles written by or about James D. Watson. It also contains articles about Watson’s colleagues, scientific topics, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The publications date from 1954 to the present time, and are filed in chronological order by published date. Whenever available, the author of the article has been cited. Many of these publications also appear in the By Watson and About Watson subseries.



The Other Clippings subseries (JDW/2/4/4) is a small collection of clippings unrelated to Watson. It mostly consists of scientific articles collected in the 1970s and 1980s. Topics include biotechnology, cancer, evolution, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Of note is one file of Elizabeth Watson clippings.



The series is organized into 4 subseries and arranged chronologically.