It was discovered in 1945 at Lederle Laboratories under the supervision of scientist Yellapragada Subbarow and Benjamin Minge Duggar.

Duggar identified the antibiotic as the product of an actinomycete he cultured from a soil sample collected from Sanborn Field at the University of Missouri.

[3] The organism was named Streptomyces aureofaciens and the isolated drug, Aureomycin, because of their golden color.

[5] Like other tetracyclines, chlortetracyclin can inhibit bone and tooth mineralization in growing and unborn animals, and color their teeth yellow or brown.

The risk or severity of adverse effects can be increased when chlortetracycline is combined with acitretin, adapalene, or alitretinoin.