Selman Abraham Waksman

Born	22 July 1888 Pryluky, near Kiev, Ukraine
Died	16 August 1973 Woods Hole, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States of America
Residence	USA
Nationality	American
Field	Biochemistry and Microbiology
Notable prizes	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1952)

Selman Abraham Waksman (22 July 1888 – 16 August 1973) was an Ukrainian-American biochemist and microbiologist whose research into organic substances—largely into organisms that live in soil—and their decomposition lead to the discovery of Streptomycin, and several other antibiotics. A professor of biochemistry and microbiology at Rutgers University for four decades, his work lead to the discovery of over twenty antibiotics (a word which he coined) and the procedures that have lead to the development of innumerable others. The proceeds earned from the licensing of his patents funded a foundation for microbiological research, which established the Waksman Institute of Microbiology located on Rutgers University's Busch Campus in Piscataway, New Jersey (USA). In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition for his discovery of "streptomycin" the first antibiotic active against tuberculosis. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2403x3000, 647 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Rutgers University Selman Waksman User:ExplorerCDT/RutgersRewrite ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Pryluky is a city in northern Ukraine. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Woods Hole is a census-designated place and village within the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near the island of Marthas Vineyard, and is the site of three famous scientific institutions: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Biological Laboratory... Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and transformations in living organisms. ... An agar plate streaked with microorganisms Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic organisms. ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to the present day. ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and transformations in living organisms. ... An agar plate streaked with microorganisms Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic organisms. ... Organic has several meanings and related topics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Loess field in Germany For the Alternative Metal band, see SOiL. Soil, comprising the pedosphere, is positioned at the interface of the lithosphere with the atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ... Spoilage redirects here. ... Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ... A professor giving a lecture The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... Rutgers redirects here. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee (the inventor or assignee) for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which... The Waksman Institute of Microbiology is a research facility on the Busch Campus of Rutgers University. ... Busch Campus is at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. ... Piscataway Township is a township located in Middlesex County, New Jersey. ... For the Bon Jovi album, see New Jersey (album) Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ...

Biography

Selman Waksman was born on 22 July 1888 to Jewish parents in Pryluky, a peasant village near Kiev, in the Russian Empire.^[1]. He emigrated to the United States in 1910, shortly after receiving his matriculation diploma from the Fifth Gymnasium in Odessa, Ukraine, and became a naturalised American citizen six years later. July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Pryluky is a city in northern Ukraine. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... Anthem: God Save the Tsar! Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq mi Population  - 1897... For other uses, see Odessa (disambiguation). ... Naturalization is the act whereby a person voluntarily and actively acquires a nationality which is not his or her nationality at birth. ...

Waksman attended Rutgers College (now Rutgers University), where he was graduated in 1915 with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Agriculture. He continued his studies at Rutgers, receiving a Master of Science (M.Sc.) the following year. During his graduate study, he worked under J. G. Lipman at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers performing research in soil bacteriology. Waksman was then appointed as Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from where he was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biochemistry in 1918. Rutgers redirects here. ... A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Martin Hall from Passion Puddle One of Cook College Fields The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) is a constituent school within Rutgers Universitys flagship New Brunswick-Piscataway campus. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, and by other names, see below) is the oldest and flagship campus of the ten-campus University of California system. ... Doctor of Philosophy (from Greek , meaning Teacher of Philosophy), typically abbreviated Ph. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

He later joined the faculty at Rutgers University in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. It was at Rutgers that Waksman discovered several antibiotics, including actinomycin, clavacin, streptothricin, streptomycin, grisein, neomycin, fradicin, candicidin, candidin, and others. Two of these, streptomycin and neomycin, have found extensive application in the treatment of numerous infectious diseases. Streptomycin was the first antibiotic that could be used to cure the disease tuberculosis. Waksman coined the term antibiotics. Rutgers redirects here. ... Actinomycin is any of a class of polypeptide antibiotics isolated from soil bacteria of the genus Streptomyces. ... Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ... Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is found in many topical medications such as creams, ointments and eyedrops. ... Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ... Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is found in many topical medications such as creams, ointments and eyedrops. ... Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Mycobacterium bovis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, genitourinary system, bones, joints, and even the... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ...

Many awards and honors were showered on Waksman after 1940, most notably the Nobel Prize in 1952 and the Star of the Rising Sun, bestowed on him by the emperor of Japan.^[1]

Selman Waksman died on 16 August 1973 and was interred at the Crowell Cemetery in Woods Hole, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. His tombstone is inscribed simply as Selman Abraham Waksman: Scientist and following his dates of birth and death, an apt paraphrase (given his life's work) of a verse from the prophetic Old Testament Book of Isaiah, carved in both Hebrew and English stating "The earth will open and bring forth salvation".^[1][2] August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Woods Hole is a census-designated place and village within the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near the island of Marthas Vineyard, and is the site of three famous scientific institutions: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Biological Laboratory... Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... A Paraphrase is a statement or remark explained in other words or another way, so as to simplify or clarify its meaning. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, believed to be written by Isaiah[1]. // The 66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... English, a West Germanic language originating in England, is the first language for most people in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. ...

Streptomycin

Although Waksman had been studying the Streptomycin family of organism since his college student days, the details and credit for the discovery of its use as the antibiotic streptomycin were strongly contested by one of Waksman's graduate students, Albert Schatz, and resulted in litigation. The litigation ended with a substantial settlement for Schatz and the official decision that Waksman and Schatz would be considered co-discoverers of streptomycin. Schatz made the discovery, but he was working in Waksman's lab, using Waksman's equipment, and he was under the direction of Waksman using Waksman's techniques. He examined about 10,000 cultures, and only 1,000 would kill bacteria in preliminary tests. Of those only 100 looked promising in later tests, and only ten were isolated and described. One of those ten was streptomycin.^[3] Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ... Albert Schatz (2 February 1920 – 17 January 2005) was a scientist who was eventually named the co-discoverer of streptomycin, an antibiotic remedy used to treat tuberculosis and a number of other diseases. ... Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ...

Neomycin

Like streptomycin, it is derived from actinomycetes. Hubert A. Lechevalier, a graduate student worked with him. The discovery was published in the journal Science. ^[4] Actinomycetales, commonly referred to as Actinomycetes, is an order of bacteria in the class Actinobacteria. ...

Nobel Prize

There is contention as to whether or not Schatz should have been included in the Nobel Prize awarded in 1952 for "for his discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis" but it is understood that the Nobel Prize was awarded not only for the discovery of streptomycin but also for the development of the methods and techniques that led up to its discovery, and the discovery of many other antibiotics. Nobel Prize medal. ... Nobel Prize medal. ... Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. ... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ...

Waksman created the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology in 1951 (Foundation History) using half of his personal patent royalties. At a meeting of the board of Trustees of the Foundation, held in July of 1951 he urged the building of a facility for work in microbiology, named the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, which is located on the Busch campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The Waksman Institute of Microbiology is a research facility on the Busch Campus of Rutgers University. ... Busch Campus is at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. ... Rutgers redirects here. ... Piscataway Township is a township located in Middlesex County, New Jersey. ...

Publications

Selman Waksman was author or co-author of over 400 scientific papers, as well as twenty-eight books.^[1] An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ...

• Enzymes (1926)
• Humus: origin, chemical composition, and importance in nature (1936, 1938)
• Principles of Soil Microbiology (1938)
• My Life with the Microbes (1954) (an autobiography)

Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Nobel Prize: Selman Waksman
• Waksman Foundation for Microbiology
• Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery
• Findagrave: Selman Waksman

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "The Foundation and Its History" at the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology website. (No further authorship information available), accessed 11 January 2007.
2. ^ This verse is significantly different than the original text of Isaiah 45:8 which states, in the King James Version, as "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it."
3. ^ Man of the Soil Time (magazine);April 4, 1949
4. ^ Man of the Soil Time (magazine);April 4, 1949