The drug's unique name derives from the fact that it was isolated by John T. Goorley from a girl named Margaret Treacy (1936–1994):[14] The surname was misspelled and the name was shortened to the more common spelling Tracy
One strain isolated from tissue debrided from a compound fracture of the tibia was particularly active. We named this growth-antagonistic strain for the patient, "Tracy I." When cell-free filtrates of broth cultures of this bacillus proved to possess strong antibiotic activity and to be non-toxic, further study seemed warranted. We have called this active principle "Bacitracin."[15]
It was approved by FDA in 1948.