Nobel Prize Recipient. He is remembered for receiving the 1945 Nobel Prize for Medicine as he and his younger colleagues Howard Florey and Ernst Chain invented modern antibiotics. Their discovery of penicillin revolutionized medical science and saved millions of lives. Born seventh of eight children to a Scottish farmer, his country upbringing sharpened his ability at an early age for nature and observation. He began his education at Loudoun Moor, then a larger school at Darvel, and then enrolled in Kimarnock Academy in 1894. In 1895, at the age of fourteen, he went to London to live with an older brother and finished his basic education at Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1901 he began studying medicine at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School on a scholarship and from inherited money from an uncle. In 1908 he won the gold for being the head of his class at the University of London. He had plans to become a surgeon until he had a position in the laboratories of the Inoculation Department of the hospital where instructor, Sir Almroth Wright, led him to the field of bacteriology. Leaving his studies, he served with distinction during World War I in the Army Medical Corps with Sir Wright's research team attached to the British Expeditionary Force's General Hospital #13 at Boulogue-sur-Mer in Northern France. In November of 1921, he made his first major discovery when he found lysozyme, a bacteria-destroying enzyme found in tears and saliva. This explained how the body fights infections, yet lysozyme had no effect on the most-pathogenic bacteria. He was elected professor of the medical school in 1928. On September 3, 1928 while studying influenza, he found mold in a petri dish of Staphylococcus aureus, which had become contaminated with a fungus. The mold, later identified as Penicillium notatum, had slowed the growth of bacteria. He called the substance "mold juice" and later, "Penicillin." In 1896 Ernest Duchesne, a French medical student, had done primary work proving certain molds killed bacteria, but the discovery did not advance until Fleming's discovery. As a lone researcher, Fleming humbly said "I did not invent penicillin. Nature did that. I only discovered it by accident." He failed to stabilize and purify penicillin, yet he knew Penicillin had the potential to be a topical antiseptic as well as an injectable antibiotic. He published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in 1929 and receiving little initial enthusiasm from the medical community. Ten years later as he was planning his retirement, Florey and Chain's contributions of stabilize and purify penicillin advanced Fleming's discovery to the drug's full potential. Without knowing the dosage needed or possible negative reactions, Penicillin was tested on the first human being in early January 1941. The development of antibiotics during World War II was critical as death from infections of battle wounds was common. Since Britain's pharmaceutical companies had been devastated by enemy bombardment during the war, Florey went to the United States in July 1941 for a few months establishing the British-American Penicillin Project and seeking mass production of the drug. At this point, a colleague from Fleming's early days at St. Mary's Medical Center, Sir Almroth Wright, issued a statement to the newspapers about his pioneer research on Penicillin. In 1943, a two-year-old American girl dying with an infection was given Penicillin and cured. In March of 1944 Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company started producing 7,000 gallons of Penicillin in an old building in Brooklyn, New York. Three months later on June 6, 1944, Allied soldiers carried penicillin on the D-Day invasion of the beaches at Normandy, France. In 1943, he was elected to the Royal society; in 1944, he was made Knight Bachelor by King George VI; and in 1945 the three scientists who had worked on Penicillin received the Nobel Prize. Starting in 1908, Fleming published numerous papers on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy. In 1947 with the death of Sir Wright, he became the Director of Inoculation Department of St. Mary's Medical School, which later became the Wright-Fleming Institute. In 1948, he became emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of London and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise. Since he was willing to give the press interviews, the press emphasized Fleming's role in the discovery of Penicillin, thus leaving the two younger scientists with little public recognition for their achievements. In time, he became England's spokesperson for medicine and science. He married twice, first to a nurse, Sarah Marion McElroy and as a widower, Dr. Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas. He suddenly died of a coronary occlusion at home and his body was cremated. Although he did not live to see Penicillin being used as a staple in the medical community, he is recognized as one of the world's most well-known scientists. "Time Magazine" named Fleming one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
Nobel Prize Recipient. He is remembered for receiving the 1945 Nobel Prize for Medicine as he and his younger colleagues Howard Florey and Ernst Chain invented modern antibiotics. Their discovery of penicillin revolutionized medical science and saved millions of lives. Born seventh of eight children to a Scottish farmer, his country upbringing sharpened his ability at an early age for nature and observation. He began his education at Loudoun Moor, then a larger school at Darvel, and then enrolled in Kimarnock Academy in 1894. In 1895, at the age of fourteen, he went to London to live with an older brother and finished his basic education at Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1901 he began studying medicine at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School on a scholarship and from inherited money from an uncle. In 1908 he won the gold for being the head of his class at the University of London. He had plans to become a surgeon until he had a position in the laboratories of the Inoculation Department of the hospital where instructor, Sir Almroth Wright, led him to the field of bacteriology. Leaving his studies, he served with distinction during World War I in the Army Medical Corps with Sir Wright's research team attached to the British Expeditionary Force's General Hospital #13 at Boulogue-sur-Mer in Northern France. In November of 1921, he made his first major discovery when he found lysozyme, a bacteria-destroying enzyme found in tears and saliva. This explained how the body fights infections, yet lysozyme had no effect on the most-pathogenic bacteria. He was elected professor of the medical school in 1928. On September 3, 1928 while studying influenza, he found mold in a petri dish of Staphylococcus aureus, which had become contaminated with a fungus. The mold, later identified as Penicillium notatum, had slowed the growth of bacteria. He called the substance "mold juice" and later, "Penicillin." In 1896 Ernest Duchesne, a French medical student, had done primary work proving certain molds killed bacteria, but the discovery did not advance until Fleming's discovery. As a lone researcher, Fleming humbly said "I did not invent penicillin. Nature did that. I only discovered it by accident." He failed to stabilize and purify penicillin, yet he knew Penicillin had the potential to be a topical antiseptic as well as an injectable antibiotic. He published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in 1929 and receiving little initial enthusiasm from the medical community. Ten years later as he was planning his retirement, Florey and Chain's contributions of stabilize and purify penicillin advanced Fleming's discovery to the drug's full potential. Without knowing the dosage needed or possible negative reactions, Penicillin was tested on the first human being in early January 1941. The development of antibiotics during World War II was critical as death from infections of battle wounds was common. Since Britain's pharmaceutical companies had been devastated by enemy bombardment during the war, Florey went to the United States in July 1941 for a few months establishing the British-American Penicillin Project and seeking mass production of the drug. At this point, a colleague from Fleming's early days at St. Mary's Medical Center, Sir Almroth Wright, issued a statement to the newspapers about his pioneer research on Penicillin. In 1943, a two-year-old American girl dying with an infection was given Penicillin and cured. In March of 1944 Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company started producing 7,000 gallons of Penicillin in an old building in Brooklyn, New York. Three months later on June 6, 1944, Allied soldiers carried penicillin on the D-Day invasion of the beaches at Normandy, France. In 1943, he was elected to the Royal society; in 1944, he was made Knight Bachelor by King George VI; and in 1945 the three scientists who had worked on Penicillin received the Nobel Prize. Starting in 1908, Fleming published numerous papers on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy. In 1947 with the death of Sir Wright, he became the Director of Inoculation Department of St. Mary's Medical School, which later became the Wright-Fleming Institute. In 1948, he became emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of London and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise. Since he was willing to give the press interviews, the press emphasized Fleming's role in the discovery of Penicillin, thus leaving the two younger scientists with little public recognition for their achievements. In time, he became England's spokesperson for medicine and science. He married twice, first to a nurse, Sarah Marion McElroy and as a widower, Dr. Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas. He suddenly died of a coronary occlusion at home and his body was cremated. Although he did not live to see Penicillin being used as a staple in the medical community, he is recognized as one of the world's most well-known scientists. "Time Magazine" named Fleming one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6161/alexander-fleming: accessed
), memorial page for Sir Alexander Fleming (6 Aug 1881–11 Mar 1955), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6161, citing Saint Paul's Cathedral, London,
City of London,
Greater London,
England;
Maintained by Find a Grave.
Add Photos for Sir Alexander Fleming
Fulfill Photo Request for Sir Alexander Fleming
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.