Alexander Fleming made history for discovering the antibiotic effects of penicillin, obtained from mold.
Fleming was born in 1881 to a family living in rural Great Britain. His father passed away when he was seven years old. He received a fairly basic education, after which he developed an interest in detailed observation and a simple frame of mind. When he was thirteen he moved to London, where he lived with a step-brother who was working as a physician. He continued his education and at the age of 20, thanks to an inheritance, was able to study medicine, obtaining a scholarship to St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in Paddington.
There he worked as a microbiologist in the innoculations department (dedicated to improving and manufacturing vaccinations, injections and serums) until the start of the first World War, when he served as a military doctor on the fronts in France. This experience left an impact on him due to the high mortality rate from infected shrapnel wounds. After the war he returned to St. Mary’s Hospital, where he worked to find a new antiseptic that would prevent the agony these wounds caused.
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Alexander Fleming is known around the world, and both myth and reality coincide in the stories that surround him. From how he made his most famous discovery to how he joined the “Chelsea Arts Club”, a private club for artists founded in 1891 thanks to his germ paintings.
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