Today in History - October 19: Albert Schatz risked his life to cure tuberculosis. But someone else took credit

The antibiotic streptomycin was first isolated on October 19, 1943, at Rutgers University in the US.

Streptomycin was found to be the first antibiotic cure for moderate to severe bacterial infections – including tuberculosis, one of the deadliest diseases on Earth.

Tuberculosis is estimated to have killed over a billion people over the last two centuries.

Streptomycin was isolated by PhD student Albert Schatz after a few months of gruelling research working around the clock in a lonely lab, even risking exposure to the deadly disease himself.

Athough his supervisor Selman Waksman claimed the credit, alleging Schatz was just a lab assistant.

Waksman received the Nobel Prize for the breakthrough, along with substantial royalties.

Schatz went on to sue Waksman and Rutgers for his share