born Aug. 6, 1881, Lochfield, Ayr, Scot.
died March 11, 1955, London, Eng.
Scottish bacteriologist.
While serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War I, he conducted research on antibacterial substances that would be nontoxic to humans. In 1928 he inadvertently discovered penicillin when he noticed that a mold contaminating a bacterial culture was inhibiting the bacteria's growth. He shared a 1945 Nobel Prize with Ernst Boris Chain and Howard Walter Florey , who both carried Fleming's basic discovery further in isolating, purifying, testing, and producing penicillin in quantity.