Full name: Alexander Fleming Born: 6th August 1881 Place of Birth: Ayrshire, Scotland Occupation: Scientist Died: 11th March 1955

Alexander Fleming was a bacteriologist and pharmacologist born on 6th August 1881 in Ayrshire, Scotland.  Fleming moved to London at a young age with his family and trained as a doctor in the city, he qualified with a distinction at the University of London in 1906 before he began his research at St Mary's Hospital Medical School with Sir Almroth Wright, a specialist in vaccine therapy at the inoculation laboratory. 

Fleming served in World War I as Captain of the Army Medical Corps based in Boulogne in France, where he treated badly wounded soldiers and helped perform amputations due to ineffective antibiotics.  Fleming returned to St. Mary's Medical School to become a lecturer and to pursue his research. 

Fleming worked very closely with Almroth Wright, who was an influential mentor to Fleming.  Wright believed that immunisation and vaccinations were the key to preventing infectious diseases and Fleming discovered the enzyme, lysozyme, a natural antiseptic.  In 1915, Fleming married a Greek colleague, Dr. Amalia Koutsouri-Voureka, with whom he had a son, who became a medical practitioner.

In 1928, whilst researching influenza, Fleming noticed a mould forming on culture dishes.  The mould had an active, bacteria free substance encircled around it that he named 'penicillin'.  Fleming discovered that the substance prevented the growth of staphylococci.  Fleming was made professor of bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School after producing a number of papers on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy. 

 Scientists Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain developed penicillin further as an antibiotic drug, which was mass produced in America in 1940 as a very important medicine for fighting bacterial infections, still used today.  In 1943, Fleming was made a fellow of the Royal Society and Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at the University of London in 1948. 

Florey, Chain and Fleming were collectively awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their extraordinary discovery and Fleming was knighted in 1944 and elected fellow of the Royal Society.  Alexander Fleming died on 11th March 1955 and was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral.