Sir Alexander Fleming - Famous Scots



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Famous Scots: Sir Alexander Fleming

Born

1881, Lochfield Farm, Darvel, Ayrshire

Died

1955

Alexander Fleming worked as clerk in London until 1901 when he began to study medicine. He proved to be a good researcher so joined research department of St Mary's Hospital, London in 1906. He was to spend his entire working life here.
Horrified by his experiences in France in WW1 he swore to find medicines which would alleviate infection of wounds. In 1928 an unwashed and bacterially infected flask appeared to be disinfected by mould which had grown from airborne spores. Penicillin's use in combating bacterium had been discovered. Strangely Fleming didn't follow up his discovery after publishing his results in 1929.
From his initial work antibiotics were developed and added to the weapons at the hands of doctors. Millions of people worldwide owe there lives to Sir Alexander's discovery.
Fleming was knighted in 1944 and won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945.