Waksman, Selman

Waksman, Selman (Abraham)

(born July 22, 1888, Priluka, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died Aug. 16, 1973, Hyannis, Mass., U.S.) Ukrainian-born U.S. biochemist. He became a U.S. citizen in 1916 and spent most of his career at Rutgers University. After the discovery of penicillin, he played a major role in initiating a calculated, systematic search for antibiotics (a term he coined in 1941) among microorganisms. His 1943 discovery of streptomycin, the first specific agent effective in the treatment of tuberculosis, brought him a 1952 Nobel Prize. Waksman also isolated and developed several other antibiotics, including neomycin, that have been used in treating many infectious diseases of humans, domestic animals, and plants.