Joao Rodrigues was born in Portugal in the 16th century. Since things were not exactly great there for marranos, he left.

First he got a medical degree from the University of Salamanca. Then travels took him to Antwerp, then to Ferrara, Italy. There, under the name of Amato Lusitano, he dissected cadavers.

Slicing up dead bodies was not exactly practiced at the time, so Lusitano was clearly ahead of the curve. Moreover, his dissections led to an important discovery: the role of venous valves in blood circulation.

Lusitano presented his findings to a group of local scholars. One of those attending was Giambattista Canano. Somehow, for a number of years, Lusitano's discovery was attributed to Canano.

Antisemitism? Quite possible. Late in life, Lusitano even practiced Judaism openly.

Credit is now fully given to Lusitano, and his Portuguese hometown even built a statue of him.

Who would have bet on that in 16th century Portugal?