The Science History Institute announced on May 5 the death of J. Craig Venter, a leading figure in genomics who played a major role in decoding the human genome. Venter died on April 29 at the age of 79 after being hospitalized for complications from cancer treatment, according to the J. Craig Venter Institute.
Venter was recognized as a pioneer in his field and contributed significantly to scientific research and innovation. He founded several organizations including Celera Genomics, the Institute for Genomic Research, and the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), as well as cofounding Human Longevity Inc. and Synthetic Genomics.
In addition to his work on the Human Genome Project—which earned him and former National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins the Science History Institute’s Biotechnology Heritage Award in 2001—Venter supported preserving scientific history. In 2005, JCVI purchased the History of Molecular Biology Collection, which documents key moments such as efforts to identify DNA’s double-helix structure. The Science History Institute acquired this collection from Venter in 2025.
“Although he was known for his role in the successful completion of the Human Genome Project, Dr. Venter’s passion for the history of science should also be noted,” said David Cole, president and CEO of the Science History Institute. “We are honored to have been able to acquire the History of Molecular Biology Collection from Dr. Venter last year and to be a part of his legacy.”
“We couldn’t think of a better home for the next phase in the life of this collection than at the Science History Institute, which will make it accessible in a way that we don’t have the capacity to do,” remarked Venter after selling them his archive.
Born in Salt Lake City in 1946, Venter served as a medic during Vietnam before earning degrees from University of California San Diego. He published over 280 research papers and three books during his career while receiving numerous awards including Time magazine’s list of most influential people (2007–08), Paul Ehrlich Prize (2001), National Medal of Science (2008), Dan David Prize (2012), Leeuwenhoek Medal (2015), among others.