Alexander fleming biography timeline with paragraphs

Sir Alexander Fleming FRS FRSE FRCS was a Scottish physician and microbiologist best recognized for developing penicillin, the world’s first widely effective antibiotic. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 for discovering penicillin.

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Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

• Alexander Fleming was born in the Scottish hamlet of Darvel on

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  In 1928 Alexander Fleming (1881–1955) discovered penicillin, though he did not realize the full significance of his discovery for at least another decade. He eventually received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or medicin in 1945.

  As far back as the 19th century, antagonism between certain bacteria and molds had been observed, and a name was given to this phenomenon—antibiosis—but little was made of these observations. A folk tradition using molds in medicin was similarly neglected. In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, made from the Penicillium notatum mold, but he did not receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his upptäckt until 1945.

  Fleming han själv did not realize how important his discovery was; for a decade after, he focused instead on penicillin’s potential use as a topical antiseptic for wounds and surface infections and as a means of isolating certain bacteria in laboratory cultures. It was left to his fellow Nobelists, Howard Florey and Ern

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  Alexander Fleming

  (1881-1955)

  Who Was Alexander Fleming?

  Alexander Fleming was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 6, 1881, and studied medicine, serving as a physician during World War I. Through research and experimentation, Fleming discovered a bacteria-destroying mold which he would call penicillin in 1928, paving the way for the use of antibiotics in modern healthcare. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945 and died on March 11, 1955.

  Early Years

  Alexander Fleming was born in rural Lochfield, in East Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 6, 1881. His parents, Hugh and Grace were farmers, and Alexander was one of their four children. He also had four half-siblings who were the surviving children from his father Hugh's first marriage. He attended the Louden Moor School, the Darvel School and Kilmarnock Academy before moving to London in 1895, where he lived with his older brother, Thomas Fleming. In London, Fleming finished his basic education at the Regent Street Polytechnic

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