The Strange Story of Albert Schatz

[Rufus_Xavier]

I came across this story in my random Wiki-ing:

@Wikipedia

Albert Schatz (born 1920[1] (http://dpsinfo.com/dps/snames.html)) isolated streptomycin in the course of his graduate work at Rutgers University. The antibiotic was the first effective treatment for tuberculosis and a number of other diseases.

Schatz’s supervisor, Selman Abraham Waksman, took the credit for Schatz’s work and received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for it in 1952. Waksman contributed nothing to the work; he initially rejected the project and did not even enter the laboratory where Schatz made his important discovery.

He now sharpens knives for Weavers Way Co-op.

Wow. Talk about an unsung hero. This guy is definitely the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[Darwin_s_Finch]

Not so unsung, really:

Largely because he was a postgraduate student, Schatz was denied any credit for the discovery and, unlike Waksman and Rutgers University, he initially received no royalties on the sale of streptomycin. Incensed by this, in 1950 Schatz sued Rutgers and was eventually awarded a share of the royalties; more importantly, he was legally recognised (with Waksman) as the co-discoverer of streptomycin.
[…]
When the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Waksman alone for his “discovery of streptomycin”, Schatz again sought justice, and wrote to many prominent scientists (including the Nobel laureates Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey), hoping that they would intercede on his behalf; on this occasion, however, he was unsuccessful. After years of neglect, his role in the discovery of streptomycin has only slowly begun to be recognised, and in 1994 Rutgers University, realising the error they made in the 1940s, awarded Schatz their highest honour, the Rutgers University Medal.

@Wikipedia

He now sharpens knives for Weavers Way Co-op.

Not any more: “died Philadelphia 17 January 2005.”