I was amazed to recently read that AIDS probably existed as far back as the 1930s. It was definitely killing people in the late 60s and the 70s. It just wasn’t killing people fast enough or publicly enough to get noticed.
As for the OP, this is more on me than the literary world, but…I read The Andromeda Strain when I was about 12. The book has as one of the main characters a Dr. Jeremy Stone. It also is notable for the large fake bibliography at the end, full of believable sounding references. It was believable enough that, at that age, I wondered if the book was real, or nearly so.
Fast forward a couple years and I’m watching a TV show and they are interviewing a Dr Jeremy Stone. I’m like, the same one as the book? Is the book based on this guy? Or just a coincidence? Turned out, the last. Not even the same kind of doctor. (or maybe not even a doctor - it’s been a while, obviously!) But it sure was intriguing!