Sir John Crofton

The return of tuberculosis in epidemic numbers is just one of the many devastating consequences of AIDS. But at least patients suffering from recent TB outbreaks can depend on powerful combinations of antibiotics, a treatment recipe that owes a great debt to the pioneering work of Irish scientist Sir John Crofton.

The son of a family physician, Crofton, who died at 97 on Nov. 3 in Edinburgh, earned his medical credentials in the heat of battle, in field hospitals at Dunkirk and in the Middle East for the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II. By 1946, TB was a...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!