Who Is Credited with Inventing Penicillin?

Who is credited with inventing penicillin? The invention, or discovery, of penicillin is credited to a scientist named Sir Alexander Fleming. Fleming was a Scottish biologist who studied bacteria and chemistry; while he was responsible for many major scientific advances, penicillin remains his main achievement, and earned him the Nobel Prize in 1945, in conjunction with two colleagues.

Want to know a little more about the man who is credited with the invention of penicillin? Fleming was born in 1881. He began studying to be a physician around the age of twenty, and went to London to study in a hospital, where he excelled at his work. Instead of pursing that path, however, Fleming chose to join the research department at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. He became an assistant bacteriologist and began to work his way up through various levels of research and study to become a Professor of Bacteriology in 1928.

Beginning the Research on Penicillin

After World War I, during which Fleming had witnessed the damage that could be done by infected wounds, he began active research on discovering ways to combat bacteria. He spent years researching various antiseptics and attempting to find something that would be universally helpful in the medical field, but came across no solid answers until 1928.

How Penicillin Was Discovered

In 1928 Fleming discovered what is now known as penicillin – completely by accident. One morning he went as usual to his laboratory and began to clean up a stack of glass plates, which he had been using to examine staphylococcus bacteria a few days before. He noted that one of the plates was growing mold; on a closer look, it became apparent that the area around the mold growth was clear of bacteria. In other words, the mold was killing off the bacteria. This was a discovery that would change history, and one that is often referred to as the greatest contribution to science that has ever been made.

Testing the Mold

Fleming began testing on the mold and discovered that its antibacterial properties were not limited to just staphylococcus. This, therefore, were the seeds of how Fleming became the man who was created with the invention of penicillin.

However, at the time, after some initial testing, he set the mold aside and moved on to other studies, and not until ten years later when two scientists, Florey and Chain, picked up the study of the mold once again. The substance within the mold that killed bacteria became known as penicillin. It was eventually isolated from the mold itself, and first used on a human patient in 1941.

Mass Production of Penicillin

Mass production of penicillin took place beginning in the early 1940s. It became a common substance in the medicinal field and by World War II was in ample enough supply to treat infections on the battlefield, making a dramatic impact on medical care of soldiers and casualties from battle. In 1945, Fleming shared the Nobel Prize with Florey and Chain, and Fleming officially became recognized as one of the men who invented penicillin.