DiscoverHistory DispatchesThe Accidental Discovery of Penicillin
The Accidental Discovery of Penicillin

The Accidental Discovery of Penicillin

Update: 2025-09-03
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In the summer of 1928 one of the happiest accidents in history occurred. Scottish Professor of Bacteriology Alexander Fleming returned from holiday to find bacteria samples had been left out, and one of them grew mold killing the bacteria. The mold was Penicillium Notatum, and it would save millions of lives. This is the story of the discovery of Penicillin.




Sources


https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5403050/#sec6


https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/flemingpenicillin/the-discovery-and-development-of-penicillin-commemorative-booklet.pdf


Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sample_of_penicillin_mould_presented_by_Alexander_Fleming_to_Douglas_Macleod,_1935_(9672239344).jpg




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The Accidental Discovery of Penicillin

The Accidental Discovery of Penicillin

Matt and McKinley Breen