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Lloyd Conover

Best known for his invention of the antibiotic tetracycline in 1952. His simple idea to exchange an atom in one antibiotic created a new, better one. Tetracycline went one to become the most widely used drug of its kind.

In 1992 Dr. Conover was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in North Canton, Ohio for his innovation in the 1950’s “prompted an industry-wide search for superior structurally-modified antibiotics, which has provided most of the important antibiotic discoveries made since then.” Lemelson- MIT.

Lloyd Conover passed on March 11^th at a retirement community in St. Petersburg. The cause was congestive heart failure.

Sources:

http://www.thescientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/48825/title/Tetracycline-Inventor-Dies

http://www.invent.org/honor/inductees/inductee-detail/?IID=32