Alexander Fleming

Creator of Penicillin

ALEXANDER FLEMING

Alexander Fleming was born in Ayrshire, Scotland on August 6, 1881. Alexander was 7 th of 8 children.

BIRTHDATE AND FAMILY MEMBERS

THIS IS A PICTURE OF AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND

Alexander went to school at Darvel school. He finished his basic education at Regent Street Polytechnic, which is now the University of Westminster. Alexander was a member of the territorial army, and served from 1900 to 1914. He started studying in the medical field at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School at the University of London.

CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL LIFE

Which is where Alexander went to school.

DARVEL SCHOOL IN LONDON

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HOBBIES, INTEREST, AND ACTIVITIES

At first Alexander wanted to be a surgeon, but then had second thoughts and decided to study bacteriology, which is the study of bacteria. Sir Almroth Edward Wright helped him revolutionize ideas for vaccine therapy. While world war 1 was taking place, Fleming was the royal Army Medical Corps. He was a bacteriologist and he studied wound infections. He learned there that the medicine was not working the way they were suppose to.

CAREER

FLEMING AT WORK

When Alexander got back home from war he became assistant director of St. Mary’s inoculation department, which means he would become a professor of bacteriology at the University of London in 1928. He also became emeritus professor of bacteriology in 1948.

COMING BACK HOME FROM WAR

He discovers lysozyme in his boogers!

THE EXCITING PART IS HAPPENING!

One day in November in 1921, he discovered lysozyme when some of his mucus dropped onto a plate of testing bacteria, Alexander was curious to see what effect the mucus would have on the bacteria so he mixed it! He left it on the plate for a couple of weeks and he noticed that the bacteria had dissolved. This was one of Flemings greatest discoveries. Fleming took a month vacation and when he came back to work, the bacteria/mucus had grew mold! He also discovered that the colonies of staphylococci surrounding that mold had been destroyed.

HIS BIG BREAK THREW

Bacteria boogers

At first he named the substance “mold juice” and then he had second thoughts and renamed it penicillin. Fleming and two of his co-workers, Howard Florey and Ernest Chain shared the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.

MORE ABOUT HIS DISCOVERY/REASON FOR FAME

PENICILLIN DISCOVERY

Fleming was usually very dirty and messy which led to the mold on his experiment.

ANECDOTE

Later in life, Alexander was president of the society for general microbiology. He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from nearly 30 European and American universities.

LATER LIFE AND OLD AGE

Fleming died due to a heart attack on March 11, 1955 at his house in London, France with his second wife, Dr. Amailia Koutsouri-Vourekead and his son, Robert.

DEATH