Storiascopio · Era 11 of 12 · lower secondary year 3
The discovery of penicillin
1928 · St Mary's Hospital, London, England
In short
In September 1928 the Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming, at St Mary's Hospital in London, noticed that a mould had spoilt one of his dishes of bacteria. Around the mould, though, the bacteria had stopped growing. Fleming called the substance made by the mould penicillin. Only in the early 1940s did Howard Florey and Ernst Chain manage to produce it in large amounts and use it as a medicine.
Why it matters It was the first antibiotic: since then many once-deadly infections can be cured with a few pills.
Source: The Nobel Prize, “Sir Alexander Fleming – Biographical”
Where we are in the era “Early 20th century”
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1903Event 13 of 25about 1950
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-discovery-of-penicillin/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class