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{{short description|Russian Jewish-American biochemist, microbiologist, and Nobel Laureate (1888–1973)}}
{{Infobox Scientist
{{Use American English|date=July 2018}}
| name = Selman Waksman
{{Infobox scientist
| image = Selman Waksman NYWTS.jpg
| name = Selman Waksman
| birth_date = [[July 22]], [[1888]]
| image = Selman Waksman NYWTS.jpg
| birth_place = [[Priluky]], [[Ukraine]]
| caption = Waksman in 1953
| death_date = [[August 16]], [[1973]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1888|7|22}}
| death_place = [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts|Woods Hole]], [[Barnstable County, Massachusetts|Barnstable County]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States of America]]
| birth_place = Nova Pryluka, [[Kyiv Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Ukraine]])
| residence = [[United States of America|USA]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1973|8|16|1888|7|22}}
| nationality = [[United States of America|American]]
| death_place = [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts]]
| field = [[Biochemistry]]
| alma_mater = [[Rutgers University]] <br> [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| prizes = [[Image:Nobel.svg|20px]] [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (1952)
| doctoral_advisor = [[Thorburn Brailsford Robertson|T. Brailsford Robertson]]
| citizenship = United States
| fields = [[Biochemistry]] and [[Microbiology]]
| prizes = {{no wrap|[[Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research]] {{small|(1948)}}<br />[[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] {{small|(1952)}} <br />[[Leeuwenhoek Medal]] {{small|(1950)}}}}
| spouse = Deborah B. Mitnik (died 1974)
| children = Byron H. Waksman (1919–2012)<ref>{{cite journal|title=Byron H. Waksman, M.D. (AAI '50) 1919–2012|journal=The Journal of Immunology|volume=189|issue=8|year=2012|pages=3783–3784|issn=0022-1767|doi=10.4049/jimmunol.1290059|s2cid=220253897|doi-access=free}}</ref>
}}
 
'''Selman Abraham Waksman''' (July 22, 1888 – August 16, 1973) was a Jewish American inventor, [[Nobel Prize laureate]], [[biochemist]] and [[microbiologist]] whose research into the [[decomposition]] of [[organism]]s that live in [[soil]] enabled the discovery of [[streptomycin]] and several other [[antibiotic]]s. A professor of biochemistry and microbiology at [[Rutgers University]] for four decades, he discovered several antibiotics (and introduced the modern sense of that word to name them), and he introduced procedures that have led to the development of many others. The proceeds earned from the licensing of his patents funded a foundation for microbiological research, which established the [[Waksman Institute of Microbiology]] located at the Rutgers University [[Busch Campus]] in [[Piscataway, New Jersey]] (USA). In 1952, he was awarded the [[Nobel Prize]] in [[Physiology]] or [[Medicine]] for "ingenious, systematic, and successful studies of the soil microbes that led to the discovery of streptomycin." Waksman and his foundation later were sued by [[Albert Schatz (scientist)|Albert Schatz]], one of his Ph.D. students and the discoverer of streptomycin, for minimizing Schatz's role in the discovery.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Kingston|first=William|date=2004-07-01|title=Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the balance of credit for discovery|journal=Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences|volume=59|issue=3|pages=441–462|issn=0022-5045|pmid=15270337|doi=10.1093/jhmas/jrh091|s2cid=27465970}}</ref>
'''Selman Abraham Waksman''' ([[July 22]], [[1888]] &ndash; [[August 16]], [[1973]]) was an American [[biochemistry|biochemist]] who is most famous for his research into [[organic substance]]s and their decomposition, which in [[1943]] eventually led to the discovery of [[streptomycin]]. In [[1952]] his lifetime of achievements earned him the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]].
 
In 2005, Selman Waksman was granted an [[ACS National Historic Chemical Landmarks|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]].<ref name= "ACSLandmarks">{{cite web | title = Selman Waksman and Antibiotics | work = National Historic Chemical Landmarks | publisher = [[American Chemical Society]] | url = http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/selmanwaksman.html | access-date = 2014-02-21 }}</ref>
==Biography==
He was born in [[Priluky]] in the [[Ukraine]]. He obtained his matriculation diploma in [[1910]] from the Fifth Gymnasium in [[Odessa]], [[Ukraine]], as an extern, and immigrated to the [[United States]], where he graduated from [[Rutgers University]] in [[1915]] with a [[B.Sc.]] degree in [[Agriculture]].
 
==Early life and education==
Selman Waksman was born on July 22, 1888 (July 8 according to the old Russian calendar<ref>{{Cite web |title=Selman Waksman and Antibiotics - Landmark |url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/selmanwaksman.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=American Chemical Society |language=en}}</ref>), to [[Jewish]] parents, in Nova Pryluka, [[Kyiv Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]],<ref name="foundationhistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.waksman-foundation.org/html/foundation_history.html |title=The Foundation and Its History |publisher=waksman-foundation.org (No further authorship information available) |access-date=January 11, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142506/http://www.waksman-foundation.org/html/foundation_history.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> now [[Vinnytsia Oblast]], Ukraine. He was the son of Fradia (London) and Jacob Waksman.<ref name="NobelBio">{{Cite web |title=Selman A. Waksman - Biographical |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1952/waksman-bio.html |access-date=April 9, 2018 |website=www.nobelprize.org}}</ref> In 1910, shortly after receiving his diploma from the Fifth Gymnasium in [[Odesa]], he immigrated to the United States and became a [[Naturalization|naturalized American citizen]] six years later.<ref>'''(ru)'''[https://iodessit.com/ru/eternal-zelman-vaksman-otkryvatel-preparata-protiv-tuberkuleza // Виталий Орлов. Зельман Ваксман — открыватель препарата против туберкулеза // Я - Одессит, 24.09.2022]</ref>
 
Waksman attended [[Rutgers University|Rutgers College]] (now Rutgers University), where he graduated in 1915 with a [[Bachelor of Science]] in agriculture. He continued his studies at Rutgers, receiving a [[Master of Science]] the following year, in 1916. During his graduate study, he worked under [[J. G. Lipman]] at the [[School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (Rutgers University)|New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station]] at Rutgers performing research in soil bacteriology. Waksman spent some months in 1915–1916 at the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] in [[Washington, DC]] under [[Charles Thom]], studying soil fungi.<ref name="Ryan_1993">{{cite book | last = Ryan | first = Frank | year = 1993 | title = The forgotten plague: how the battle against tuberculosis was won—and lost | publisher = Little, Brown | location = Boston | isbn = 978-0316763806 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/forgottenplagueh00ryan }}</ref>{{rp|44–48}} He was appointed as a research fellow at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], and in 1918 he was awarded his [[doctor of philosophy]] in biochemistry.
He performed research in soil bacteriology under Dr. J.G. Lipman at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station before being awarded his [[M.Sc.]] degree in [[1916]]. That same year Waksman became a [[naturalized citizen]] and was appointed a Research Fellow at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] where he earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in [[1918]]. He later joined the faculty at [[Rutgers University]] in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.
 
==Career==
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]].
He joined the faculty at [[Rutgers University]] in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.
 
At Rutgers, Waksman's team discovered several antibiotics, including [[actinomycin]], [[clavacin]], streptothricin, [[streptomycin]], grisein, [[neomycin]], fradicin, [[candicidin]], candidin. Waksman co-discovered streptomycin with [[Albert Schatz (scientist)|Albert Schatz]]. Streptomycin was the first effective drug against gram-negative bacteria<ref name= "ACSLandmarks"/> and the first [[antibiotic]] used to cure [[tuberculosis]]. Waksman is credited with coining the term antibiotics to describe [[antibacterial]]s derived from other living organisms, for example [[penicillin]], though the term was used by the French dermatologist [[François Henri Hallopeau]], in 1871 to describe a substance opposed to the development of life.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
==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 (scientist)|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.
 
In 1931, Waksman organized the division of Marine Bacteriology at the [[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]] (WHOI) in addition to his task at Rutgers.<ref name="NobelBio" /> He was appointed a marine bacteriologist there and served until 1942. He was elected a trustee at WHOI and finally a Life Trustee.
==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. <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,800002,00.html Time magazine] [[April 4]], [[1949]]</ref>
 
In 1951,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waksman-foundation.org/html/foundation_history.html |title=Foundation History |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142506/http://www.waksman-foundation.org/html/foundation_history.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> using half of his patent [[royalties]], Waksman created the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waksman-foundation.org/ |title=Waksman Foundation for Microbiology homepage |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111114428/http://waksman-foundation.org/ |archive-date=January 11, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> At a meeting of the board of trustees of the foundation, held in July 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 (Rutgers University)|Busch Campus]] of Rutgers University in [[Piscataway, New Jersey]]. The foundation's first president, Waksman, was succeeded in this position by his son, Byron H. Waksman, from 1970 to 2000.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
==Nobel Prize==
There is contention as to whether or not Schatz should have been included in the [[Nobel Prize]] awarded in 1952, 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]].
 
==Research==
Waksman created the [http://www.waksmanfoundation.org/ Waksman Foundation for Microbiology] in [[1951]] ([http://www.waksmanfoundation.org/html/foundation_history.html 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 (Rutgers University)|Busch campus]] of [[Rutgers University]] in [[Piscataway, New Jersey]].
===Streptomycin===
{{main article|Streptomycin}}
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]]''. Streptomycin was isolated from ''S. griseus'' and found effective against [[tuberculosis]] by one of Waksman's graduate students, [[Albert Schatz (scientist)|Albert Schatz]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/63042d06-83c2-11e1-82ca-00144feab49a.html#axzz1s0Q17zi3 |title=Germ warfare |date=April 14, 2012 |publisher=[[Financial Times]] |author=Andrew Jack}}</ref> These results were later confirmed by [[Elizabeth Bugie]] Gregory, whose name was also published on "Streptomycin, a Substance Exhibiting Antibiotic Activity Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria" with Schatz and Waksman.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Forgotten Women of the Antibiotics Race|url=https://www.ladyscience.com/features/forgotten-women-researchers-in-the-race-for-antibiotics-2021|access-date=2021-12-21|website=Lady Science|date=22 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> However, Bugie's name was not on the second key paper in 1944, which was regarding the efficacy of streptomycin against tuberculosis in test tubes, as Schatz claimed Bugie was not involved with the experiment.<ref name=":0" /> Bugie was also not given credit for her work on streptomycin, nor was she listed on the patent proposal, as she signed an affidavit stating that she did not have any contribution in discovering streptomycin.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get a fair shake for the role in the discovery of streptomycin?|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|access-date=2021-12-21|website=old.post-gazette.com|archive-date=2021-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129213617/http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was submitted under an attorney of the Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
 
====Controversy====
He died in 1973 and was buried in [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts]].
{{see also|Albert Schatz (scientist)#Streptomycin controversy}}
The details and credit for the discovery of streptomycin and its usefulness as an antibiotic were strongly contested by [[Albert Schatz (scientist)|Albert Schatz]], leading to litigation in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/SciANDTech/Waksman/schatz.htm |title=The Schatz v. Waksman Lawsuit – 1950 |publisher=scc.rutgers.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014185512/http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/SciANDTech/Waksman/schatz.htm |archive-date=October 14, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> However, it was possible that Waksman did not see Schatz's contribution as significantly as Schatz saw his contributions. 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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Milton.|first=Wainwright|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1101806541|title=Streptomycin : discovery and resultant controversy|date=1991|publisher=[Verlag nicht ermittelbar]|oclc=1101806541}}</ref><ref name=":0"/> Waksman and Rutgers settled out of court with Schatz, resulting in financial remuneration and entitlement to "legal and scientific credit as co-discoverer of streptomycin."<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last=Pringle|first=Peter|date=June 11, 2012|title=Notebooks Shed Light on a Discovery, and a Mentor's Betrayal|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/science/notebooks-shed-light-on-an-antibiotic-discovery-and-a-mentors-betrayal.html|access-date=June 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name="young">{{cite news|last=Mistiaen|first=Veronique|date=November 2, 2002|title=Time, and the great healer.|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,3605,823114,00.html|access-date=April 13, 2010|quote=The story of streptomycin – of scientific triumphs, all-too-human scientists and a long quest for justice – lies somewhere between these two men.}}</ref> Schatz was awarded $120,000 for patent rights and 3% of royalties.<ref>{{Cite news |last=TIMES |first=Special to THE NEW YORK |date=1950-12-30 |title=Dr. Schatz Wins 3% of Royalty; Named Co-Finder of Streptomycin; KEY FIGURES IN STREPTOMYCIN DISCOVERY SUIT |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/12/30/archives/dr-schatz-wins-3-of-royalty-named-cofinder-of-streptomycin-key.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Lancet<ref>{{Cite journal |last=The Lancet Infectious Diseases |date=2005-11-01 |title=The Nobel cause |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309905702450 |journal=The Lancet Infectious Diseases |language=en |volume=5 |issue=11 |pages=665 |doi=10.1016/S1473-3099(05)70245-0 |pmid=16253880 |issn=1473-3099}}</ref> claimed that "the Nobel committee made a considerable mistake by failing to recognize Schatz's contribution."
 
Systematic experiments to test several strains of antibiotics against several different disease organisms were underway in Waksman's laboratory at the time. Their classic approach was to explore a complete matrix with rows consisting of antibiotics and columns consisting of different diseases. The bacteria which produced the antibiotic streptomycin were discovered by Schatz in the farmland outside his lab and tested by him.<ref name=NYT/> Waksman, however, eventually came to claim sole credit for the discovery.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}
==Publications==
* ''[[Enzymes (book)|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)
 
The controversy of streptomycin between Waksman and Schatz brought to light the challenges of distributing credit for scientific research, discoveries, and patents.<ref name=":1" /> It prompted schools and universities to become more involved in the patenting process and to have more regulations on how credit is dispersed. Schools would also provide clearer lines for each individual's role in a lab to minimize future litigations against the school.<ref name=":1" />
==External links==
 
* [http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1952/waksman-bio.html Nobel Prize: Selman Waksman]
===Neomycin===
* [http://www.waksmanfoundation.org/ Waksman Foundation for Microbiology]
{{Main article|Neomycin}}
*[http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_medicine_and_allied_sciences/v059/59.3kingston.html Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery]
Neomycin is derived from actinomycetes and was discovered by Waksman and Hubert A. Lechevalier, one of Waksman's graduate students. The discovery was published in the journal ''Science''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Lechevalier|first2=H. A.|date=1949-03-25|title=Neomycin, a New Antibiotic Active against Streptomycin-Resistant Bacteria, including Tuberculosis Organisms|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.109.2830.305|journal=Science|language=en|volume=109|issue=2830|pages=305–307|doi=10.1126/science.109.2830.305|pmid=17782716|bibcode=1949Sci...109..305W|issn=0036-8075}}</ref>
*[http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=waksman&GSfn=selman&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=9533563&pt=Selman%20Abraham%20Waksman& Findagrave: Selman Waksman]
 
=== Marine bacteria ===
Waksman's research also examined the role of bacteria in marine systems, with a particular focus on the role of bacteria in nutrient cycles. Waksman examined the degradation of [[alginic acid]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Carey|first2=C. L.|last3=Allen|first3=M. C.|date=1934|title=Bacteria Decomposing Alginic Acid|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=28|issue=2|pages=213–220|doi=10.1128/jb.28.2.213-220.1934|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16559742|pmc=533668}}</ref> cellulose,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Carey|first2=C.|title=The Use of the Silica Gel Plate for Demonstrating the Occurrence and Abundance of Cellulose-Decomposing Bacteria|date=1926|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=12|issue=2|pages=87–95|doi=10.1128/jb.12.2.87-95.1926|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16559206|pmc=374888|doi-access=free}}</ref> and zooplankton.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Carey|first2=Cornelia L.|last3=Reuszer|first3=Herbert W.|date=1933-08-01|title=Marine bacteria and their rôle in the cycle of life in the sea: i. decomposition of marine plant and animal residues by bacteria|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1537188|journal=The Biological Bulletin|volume=65|issue=1|pages=57–79|doi=10.2307/1537188|jstor=1537188|issn=0006-3185}}</ref> Waksman, working with Cornelia Carey, [[Margaret Hotchkiss]], [[Yvette Hardman Edmondson|Yvette Hardman]], and Donald Johnston, conducted multiple studies on the actions of bacteria in marine systems which included quantifying the abundance<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Carey|first2=C. L.|date=1935|title=Decomposition of Organic Matter in Sea Water by Bacteria: II. Influence of Addition of Organic Substances upon Bacterial Activities|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=29|issue=5|pages=545–561|doi=10.1128/jb.29.5.545-561.1935|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16559809|pmc=543620|doi-access=free}}</ref> and viability of bacteria in seawater.,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Hotchkiss|first2=M.|date=1937|title=Viability of Bacteria in Sea Water|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=33|issue=4|pages=389–400|doi=10.1128/jb.33.4.389-400.1937|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16560007|pmc=545103|doi-access=free}}</ref> examining the impact of copper on bacterial growth,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Johnston|first2=Donald B.|last3=Carey|first3=Cornelia A.|date=1943|title=The effect of copper upon the development of bacteria in seawater and the isolation of specific bacteria|url=https://images.peabody.yale.edu/publications/jmr/jmr05-02-06.pdf|journal=Journal of Marine Research|volume=5|issue=2–06|pages=136–152}}</ref> estimating the impact of bacterial activity on the nitrogen cycle,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Hotchkiss|first2=M.|last3=Carey|first3=C. L.|last4=Hardman|first4=Y.|title=Decomposition of Nitrogenous Substances in Sea Water by Bacteria|date=1938|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=35|issue=5|pages=477–486|doi=10.1128/jb.35.5.477-486.1938|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16560120|pmc=545432|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Hotchkiss|first2=Margaret|last3=Carey|first3=Cornelia L.|date=1933-10-01|title=Marine bacteria and their rôle in the cycle of life in the sea: ii. bacteria concerned in the cycle of nitrogen in the sea|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1537170|journal=The Biological Bulletin|volume=65|issue=2|pages=137–167|doi=10.2307/1537170|jstor=1537170|issn=0006-3185}}</ref> and a separation of bacteria into groups based on habitat use in seawater, on plankton, or in the sediments.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Reuszer|first2=H. W.|last3=Carey|first3=Cornelia L.|last4=Hotchkiss|first4=Margaret|last5=Renn|first5=C. E.|date=1933-04-01|title=Studies on the biology and chemistry of the Gulf of Maine : iii. bacteriological investigations of the seawater and marine bottoms|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1537228|journal=The Biological Bulletin|volume=64|issue=2|pages=183–205|doi=10.2307/1537228|jstor=1537228|issn=0006-3185}}</ref>
 
Other tributes involve [[anti-fouling paint]] for the Navy, the use of [[enzyme]]s in [[laundry detergent]]s, and the practice of [[Concord grape]] [[rootstock]] to safeguard French vineyards from fungal infections.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
 
==Awards and honors==
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 [[Légion d'honneur]].<ref name="foundationhistory"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://waksman.rutgers.edu/Waks/Waksman/DrWaksman.html |title=Dr. Selman Waksman |publisher=The Waksman Institute at Rutgers (No further authorship information available) |access-date=January 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418134324/http://waksman.rutgers.edu/Waks/Waksman/DrWaksman.html |archive-date=April 18, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1952/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1952|website=www.nobelprize.org|access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref> During his Nobel Prize award presentation, Waksman was called "one of the greatest benefactors to mankind," as the result of his discovery of streptomycin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1952/press.html|title=Nobelprize.org|website=www.nobelprize.org|access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref> Schatz protested being left out of the award, even sending a letter to [[Gustaf VI Adolf]], the King of Sweden, but the State did not have any influence over the Nobel Prize Committee's decision and they ruled that he was a mere lab assistant working under a scientist.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="NYT" />
 
The [[Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology]] of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] is given in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Selman A Walksman Award|url=http://nas.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_waksman|access-date=July 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420194657/http://nas.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_waksman|archive-date=April 20, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
 
== Publications ==
Selman Waksman was the author or [[co-author]] of over 400 scientific papers, as well as 28 books<ref name="foundationhistory"/> and 14 scientific pamphlets.
* ''Enzymes'' (1926)
* ''Humus: origin, chemical composition, and importance in nature'' (1936, 1938)
* ''Principles of Soil Microbiology'' (1927, 1932)
* ''My Life with the Microbes'' (1954) (an autobiography)
 
== Personal life ==
Waksman was married to Deborah B. Mitnik. They had one son, Byron H. Waksman, M.D., who was an assistant professor at Harvard University Medical School, and Professor of Microbiology at Yale University Medical School.<ref name="NobelBio" />
 
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]]. His tombstone is inscribed "Selman Abraham Waksman: Scientist", with his dates of birth and death, and the epitaph "The earth will unlock and fetch ahead salvation" in [[Hebrew]] and English, from {{bible|Isaiah|45:8}}.<ref name="foundationhistory" /><ref>The modern Hebrew epitaph is similar to the 17th century [[King James Version|King James translation]], "... let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation..."</ref>
 
== See also ==
* [[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references/>
 
==External links==
{{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 1951-1975}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture December 12, 1952 ''Streptomycin: Background, Isolation, Properties, and Utilization''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160111114428/http://waksman-foundation.org/ Waksman Foundation for Microbiology]
* [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_medicine_and_allied_sciences/v059/59.3kingston.html "Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery"]
* [http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=waksman&GSfn=selman&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=9533563&pt=Selman%20Abraham%20Waksman& Findagrave: Selman Waksman]
* [http://waksman.rutgers.edu/ The Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University]
* [https://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow/10-nobel-snubs/ No Nobel for You – Top 10 Nobel Snubs], ''[[Scientific American]]''
 
{{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 1951-1975}}
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