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Alexander Fleming

10 questions · Science

Alexander Fleming, born in Scotland in 1881, made one of the most consequential discoveries in the history of medicine and, as so often, through a lucky accident and a sharp eye. The bacteriologist was known for his rather untidy way of working. In 1928 he returned from holiday and found a mould in a forgotten Petri dish. What stood out: around the mould the bacteria had died. Instead of throwing the dish away, Fleming grasped its significance: the mould gave off a substance that killed bacteria. He named it penicillin. With that, the first antibiotic was discovered, a weapon against previously deadly infections. Fleming himself could not produce the agent in large quantities; only a decade later did Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain succeed in turning penicillin into a mass medicine that saved countless lives in the Second World War. In 1945 the three shared the Nobel Prize. Fleming, suddenly world-famous, warned with astonishing foresight even then against using antibiotics carelessly: otherwise the bacteria would become resistant. This very problem still concerns medicine today. He died in 1955.

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Which country was Alexander Fleming from?

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Scotland

Born in 1881.

💡 Did you know? Fleming came from a Scottish farming family and only studied medicine thanks to an inheritance.

Which groundbreaking substance did Fleming discover?

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penicillin

From a mould.

💡 Did you know? Fleming's penicillin ushered in the age of antibiotics and has since saved hundreds of millions of lives.

How did Fleming's discovery come about?

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by accident (mould)

Around the mould the bacteria died.

💡 Did you know? Fleming discovered penicillin because he forgot to clear away a bacterial dish before a holiday: mould killed the germs in it.

What was penicillin as the first of its kind?

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first antibiotic

A weapon against bacterial infections.

💡 Did you know? Penicillin was the first antibiotic: before it, a simple wound infection could be fatal.

When did Fleming receive the Nobel Prize?

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1945

Together with Florey and Chain.

💡 Did you know? Fleming shared the 1945 Nobel with Florey and Chain, who made penicillin mass-producible.

What did Fleming warn about early on?

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resistance

Careless use makes bacteria resistant.

💡 Did you know? Already in his Nobel lecture Fleming warned of antibiotic resistance: a problem medicine still faces today.

Alexander Fleming

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Which scientist is shown here?

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Alexander Fleming

Alexander Fleming was a Scottish doctor who discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin.

💡 Did you know? He made the discovery by chance: thanks to an accidentally forgotten, mouldy bacterial dish.

In which year was Alexander Fleming born?

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1881

Born: 6 August 1881 in Darvel, Scotland

In which year did Alexander Fleming die?

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1955

Died: 11 March 1955 in London, aged 73

Where was Alexander Fleming born?

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Darvel, Scotland

Born: 6 August 1881 in Darvel, Scotland

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