Sir Alexander Fleming Is “the Penicillin Man”
Sir Alexander Fleming is “The Penicillin Man”
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionise all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer," Fleming would later say, "But I suppose that was exactly what I did". And we should thank him every time when we get sick and take the penicillin as single remedy for our disease. Because of his research and his discovery of penicillin, he has "the greatest contribution medical science ever made to humanity."
On a farm in Scotland on August 6, 1881, at Lochfield, Ayrshire, this amazing person was born, and this person is none other than Alexander Fleming. As a boy he roamed the countryside with his 8 brothers who lived with him in a desolate area of Scotland. The Fleming children had an amazing love for the flora, fauna and merry weather that surrounded their farm for miles. "We unconsciously learned a great deal from nature," said Fleming at a later time in his life. Nature, which he considered his first and best teacher, developed his power of observation and taught him to apply his powers of reasoning to what he observed and to act in accordance with his observations.
Like many Scots who were forced to leave their native land for better career opportunities, Fleming, at the age of 13, left for London, where he lived with his brothers. He attended lectures at the Polytechnic School and worked for 4 years in a shipping office. In 1901 an uncle left Fleming a legacy that enabled him to study medicine, and he entered St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in Paddington, later a part of the University of London. In 1906 Fleming received his licentiate from the Royal College of Physicians. He chose a career in bacteriology and immediately joined the Inoculation Department, now the Wright-Fleming Institute, where he spent his entire career. He assisted Sir Almroth Wright, the originator of vaccinotherapy and the first doctor to use
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionise all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer," Fleming would later say, "But I suppose that was exactly what I did". And we should thank him every time when we get sick and take the penicillin as single remedy for our disease. Because of his research and his discovery of penicillin, he has "the greatest contribution medical science ever made to humanity."
On a farm in Scotland on August 6, 1881, at Lochfield, Ayrshire, this amazing person was born, and this person is none other than Alexander Fleming. As a boy he roamed the countryside with his 8 brothers who lived with him in a desolate area of Scotland. The Fleming children had an amazing love for the flora, fauna and merry weather that surrounded their farm for miles. "We unconsciously learned a great deal from nature," said Fleming at a later time in his life. Nature, which he considered his first and best teacher, developed his power of observation and taught him to apply his powers of reasoning to what he observed and to act in accordance with his observations.
Like many Scots who were forced to leave their native land for better career opportunities, Fleming, at the age of 13, left for London, where he lived with his brothers. He attended lectures at the Polytechnic School and worked for 4 years in a shipping office. In 1901 an uncle left Fleming a legacy that enabled him to study medicine, and he entered St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in Paddington, later a part of the University of London. In 1906 Fleming received his licentiate from the Royal College of Physicians. He chose a career in bacteriology and immediately joined the Inoculation Department, now the Wright-Fleming Institute, where he spent his entire career. He assisted Sir Almroth Wright, the originator of vaccinotherapy and the first doctor to use
Bibliography: 1. Andre Maurois, "The Life of Sir Alexander Fleming" - Penguin Books, 1963 2. Salvatore Tocci, "Alexander Fleming: The Man Who Discovered Penicillin" - Enslow Publishers, 2002 3. Lloyd G. Stevenson, "Nobel Prize Winners in Medicine and Physiology 1901-1950" - Henry Schuman New York, 1953 4. John Rowland, "The Penicillin Man: The Story of Alexander Fleming" - New York: Roy Press. 1957 5. Thomson Gale, "Encyclopedia of World Biography" 6. Thomson Gale, "World of Scientific Discovery"