What was Alexander Fleming's work?

Answer 1

Sir Alexander Fleming

Fleming (centre) receiving the Nobel prize from King Gustaf V of Sweden (right), 1945

Born6 August 1881(1881-08-06)

Lochfield, ScotlandDied11 March 1955 (aged 73)

London, England

CitizenshipUnited KingdomNationalityBritishFieldsBacteriology, immunologyAlma materRoyal Polytechnic Institution; St Mary's Hospital, LondonKnown forDiscovery of penicillinNotable awardsNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1945)

Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August, 1881 - 11 March, 1955) was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy. His best-known discoveries are the discovery of the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the antibiotic substance penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain.[1]

In 1999, Time Magazine named Fleming one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century for his discovery of penicillin, and stated:

It was a discovery that would change the course of history. The active ingredient in that mould, which Fleming named penicillin, turned out to be an infection-fighting agent of enormous potency. When it was finally recognised for what it was, the most efficacious life-saving drug in the world, penicillin would alter forever the treatment of bacterial infections. By the middle of the century, Fleming's discovery had spawned a huge pharmaceutical industry, churning out synthetic penicillins that would conquer some of mankind's most ancient scourges, including syphilis, gangrene and tuberculosis.[2]