24 Facts About Selman Waksman

Selman Abraham Waksman was a Jewish American inventor, Nobel Prize laureate, biochemist and microbiologist whose research into the decomposition of organisms that live in soil enabled the discovery of streptomycin and several other antibiotics.

In 2005, Selman Waksman was granted an ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark in recognition of the significant work of his lab in isolating more than 15 antibiotics, including streptomycin, which was the first effective treatment for tuberculosis.

Selman Waksman was born on July 22,1888, to Jewish parents, in Nova Pryluka, Kyiv Governorate, Russian Empire, now Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine.

Selman Waksman was the son of Fradia and Jacob Waksman.

Selman Waksman attended Rutgers College, where he graduated in 1915 with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture.

Selman Waksman continued his studies at Rutgers, receiving a Master of Science the following year, in 1916.

Selman Waksman was appointed as a research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1918 he was awarded his doctor of philosophy in biochemistry.

Selman Waksman joined the faculty at Rutgers University in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.

At Rutgers, Selman Waksman's team discovered several antibiotics, including actinomycin, clavacin, streptothricin, streptomycin, grisein, neomycin, fradicin, candicidin, candidin.

Selman Waksman is credited with coining the term antibiotics to describe antibacterials derived from other living organisms, for example penicillin, though the term was used by the French dermatologist Francois Henri Hallopeau, in 1871 to describe a substance opposed to the development of life.

In 1931, Selman Waksman organized the division of Marine Bacteriology at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in addition to his task at Rutgers.

Selman Waksman was appointed a marine bacteriologist there and served until 1942.

Selman Waksman was elected a trustee at WHOI and finally a Life Trustee.

In 1951, using half of his patent royalties, Selman Waksman created the Selman Waksman Foundation for Microbiology.

Selman Waksman had been studying the Streptomyces family of organisms since his college student days and had, for a time, been studying the organism Streptomyces griseus.

However, it was possible that Selman Waksman did not see Schatz's contribution as significantly as Schatz saw his contributions.

Selman Waksman noted that Schatz was away at the military in 1943, adding that he was only in the lab for three months and only played a small role in discovering streptomycin.

Selman Waksman eventually came to claim sole credit for the discovery.

Selman Waksman's research examined the role of bacteria in marine systems, with a particular focus on the role of bacteria in nutrient cycles.

Selman Waksman examined the degradation of alginic acid, cellulose, and zooplankton.

Selman Waksman, working with Cornelia Carey, Margaret Hotchkiss, Yvette Hardman, and Donald Johnston, conducted multiple studies on the actions of bacteria in marine systems which included quantifying the abundance and viability of bacteria in seawater.

Selman Waksman acquired many awards and honors, including the Nobel Prize in 1952; the Star of the Rising Sun granted to him by the emperor of Japan, and the rank of Commandeur in the French Legion d'honneur.

Selman Waksman was the author or co-author of over 400 scientific papers, as well as 28 books and 14 scientific pamphlets.

Selman Waksman died on August 16,1973, at a Hyannis, Massachusetts, hospital and was interred at the Woods Hole Village Cemetery in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.