April 25, 1953: James D. Watson and Francis Crick publish a report title Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. It was the first article published to describe the discovery of the "double helix" structure of DNA, using X-ray diffraction and the mathematics of a helix transform.
This article is often termed a "pearl" of science because it is brief and contains the answer to a fundamental mystery about living organisms. This mystery was the question of how it is possible that genetic instructions instructions are held inside organisms and how they are passed from generation to generation.
The article, written by Watson, a 25-year-old Chicagoan, and Crick, a 36-year-old native of Northamptonshire, England, presents a simple and elegant solution, which surprised many biologists at the time who believed that DNA transmission was going to be more difficult to deduce and understand. The discovery had a major impact on biology, particularly in the field of genetics, enabling later researchers to understand the genetic code.
It has been alleged that Watson and Crick built their work on, and may even have stolen, the research of Rosalind Franklin, a 32-year-old Londoner. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, Franklin’s contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely unrecognized during her life, for which she has been variously referred to as the "wronged heroine" and the "dark lady of DNA."
She had many things working against her: She was female, Jewish, and unmarried. By 1956, she developed cancer, and while she still managed to publish 7 papers in 2 years, she died in 1958, unable to speak on her own behalf thereafter. To their credit, Watson and Crick frequently praised her thereafter.
Crick died in 2004, at the age of 88. As of April 25, 2022, Watson is still alive. (UPDATE: He died on November 6, 2025, at the age of 97.)
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April 25, 1953 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 4-2 at Yankee Stadium. Gene Woodling hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to win it, making Tom Gorman a winner in relief of Whitey Ford. Andy Carey also hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 7-5 at Ebbets Field. They did this without Willie Mays, who was serving in the Korean War. Alvin Dark and Monte Irvin hit home runs. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams was serving in the Korean War, and unavailable for the Red Sox.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-6 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadlelphia.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Early Wynn outpitched Hal Newhouser.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Stan Musial went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Red Schoendienst went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Frank Baumholtz and Toby Atwell each got 3 hits for the Cubs.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* And the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup had been awarded 9 days earlier, when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Finals. The NBA Championship had been awarded 6 days before that, as the Minneapolis Lakers beat the New York Knicks in Game 5 of those Finals.
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