Alexander Fleming

Profession: Biologist

Nationality:

Biography: Alexander Fleming was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for the discovery of penicillin, which was the first antibiotic substance to be broadly effective against a range of diseases.

Fleming discovered the substance in 1928, which was derived from the mould Penicillium rubens. For this he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, shared with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain, in 1945 "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases."

Of this discovery, Fleming later said: "One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer. But I suppose that was exactly what I did."

Born: August 6, 1881
Birthplace: Darvel, Ayrshire, Scotland
Star Sign: Leo

Died: March 11, 1955 (aged 73)
Cause of Death: Heart attack