Fun Facts About Alexander Fleming
- Alexander Fleming called the story that Winston Churchill's father paid for his education "a wondrous fable." Nor did Fleming save Churchill in 1943: Lord Moran treated him with sulfonamides.[1][3][4]
- Before penicillin, Fleming discovered the antibacterial enzyme lysozyme in his own nasal mucus. His 1921 notebook reads "Staphyloid coccus from A.F.'s nose."[1]
- Fleming went into research partly thanks to rifle shooting: the captain of the medical school rifle club wanted to keep him on the team and suggested he join the research department.[1]
- Fleming worked in a shipping office for four years. At 20 he inherited some money from an uncle and soon enrolled at St Mary's Hospital Medical School.[1]
- Fleming, not a tidy researcher, found penicillin in 1928 when he came back from a family holiday to a culture plate contaminated with mold. He remarked, "That's funny."[1]
- In his 1945 Nobel lecture, Fleming warned that people who underdosed themselves with penicillin could breed resistant bacteria.[1]
- Alexander Fleming was alive at the same time as Ralph Waldo Emerson — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1881–1882).[1][2][5][6]
- Alexander Fleming shares a birthday with Andy Warhol: both were born on August 6.[1][2][7][8]
Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases". This was the first antibiotic substance discovered. His discovery in 1928 of what was later named benzylpenicillin from the mould Penicillium rubens has been described as the "single greatest victory ever achieved over disease".[1]
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Questions About Alexander Fleming
When was Alexander Fleming born?
Alexander Fleming was born on August 6, 1881, and died on March 11, 1955.
How old was Alexander Fleming at death?
Alexander Fleming was born on August 6, 1881, and died on March 11, 1955, at age 73.
What was Alexander Fleming known for?
Alexander Fleming was known for: Discovered penicillin. Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases". This was the first antibiotic substance discovered. His discovery in 1928 of what was later named benzylpenicillin from the mould Penicillium rubens has been described as the "single greatest victory ever achieved over disease".
Who was alive at the same time as Alexander Fleming?
Alexander Fleming's closest contemporary was Winston Churchill. Their lives overlapped for 74 years.
Sources
- Alexander Fleming — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Alexander Fleming (Q37064) — Wikidata
- Winston Churchill — Wikipedia
- Winston Churchill (Q8016) — Wikidata
- Ralph Waldo Emerson — Wikipedia
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (Q48226) — Wikidata
- Andy Warhol — Wikipedia
- Andy Warhol (Q5603) — Wikidata
- Portrait: Synthetic Production of Penicillin TR1468.jpg — Wikimedia Commons. Official photographer, Public domain