From Mold to Medicine

Alexander Fleming and the Discovery of Penicillin (History in the Mist)

By: Riveting History

Narrated by: Cate Croft

In London, in the summer of 1928, as usual, a misty haze fell over the city. It was early September, and warm, damp humidity lingered over the lush countryside. In Paddington, drizzle clung to the air as Alexander Fleming—a well-known scientist—climbed the stairs to the second floor of St. Mary’s Hospital After a few weeks away for a much-needed vacation in Suffolk,

Fleming entered his laboratory
As he had left it, the room was in disarray. His desk was littered with papers, a stack of journals he had meant to put away, and Petri dishes he had meant to clean and store. In the corner of the room, on his workbench below the window, were culture plates he had previously swabbed with staphylococci before his departure. Fleming examined them and squinted in curiosity. One of the plates seemed to be contaminated with a fungus.

It was September 3rd, 1928.

On this rainy September day in Paddington, England, Alexander Fleming was about to unlock one of the greatest mysteries in medicine; his discovery would change the world and save countless lives.

But let’s start at the beginning.

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