Sir Alexander Fleming

Fleming, Sir Alexander (1881–1955), British bacteriologist, discoverer of lysozyme (1922) and penicillin (1928). Lysozyme is an enzyme present in many body tissues and lethal to certain bacteria; its discovery prepared the way for that of antibiotics. His discovery of penicillin was largely accidental, and penicillin was developed as a therapeutic drug later, by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain. All 3 scientists received the 1945 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for their work.

See also: Bacteriology; Penicillin.