Alexander Fleming Research Paper

Alexander Fleming once said, “One sometimes finds what one is not looking for” (Alexander Fleming Quotes). Alexander Fleming was someone who accidentally found something that changed the world. In 1928 on September 28 Alexander Fleming changed the world by discovering penicillin. Penicillin is an antibiotic that destroys bacteria and has saved many lives since its discovery. Alexander Fleming is important because of who he was, his discovery of penicillin, and how his discovery is significant to the history of the world. Alexander Fleming was a Scottish bacteriologist who was born on August 6, 1881 in Scotland. At the age of 13 he moved to London to live with his older brother, Tom, who was a doctor. When he was 22 years old he decided to

When he returned on September 3 he realized that in his laboratory he left out dishes which “contained colonies of Staphylococcus bacteria” (Alexander Fleming). While being left out, mold had accumulated on the dishes. When he looked closely at the mold he noticed that there was a bacteria free circle around it. The mold had killed the Staphylococcus around it. Flemming found this discovery interesting so he experimented more with it. He discovered that the mold stopped Staphylococcus from growing. Fleming decided to name the bacteria killing mold substance penicillin. Alexander Fleming said, “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” (Biography.com Editors). After his discovery he spent most of his time trying to grow more of the fungus. He discovered that penicillin killed bacteria that causes scarlet fever, pneumonia, meningitis and diphtheria. He also found out that penicillin did not attack white blood cells and was not toxic (Alexander Fleming). Flemings accidental discovery changed the