born Oct. 8, 1929, Boston, Mass., U.S.
U.S. geneticist.
Educated at Harvard University and the University of Rochester, he worked primarily at the University of Oregon. With Matthew Stanley Meselson he discovered and described (1958) the mode of replication of DNA . They found that the double-stranded helix breaks apart to form two strands, each of which directs the construction of a new sister strand.