Health & biology · 1928

Penicillin

Alexander Fleming noticed a mould killing bacteria on a forgotten culture plate.

Fleming observed Penicillium notatum's antibacterial effect in London in 1928. Purified by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain in 1940, it was the first true antibiotic and began the age of curing bacterial infection.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Koch's bacteriology 1876

What it led to 3

Mass-produced penicillin 1943
Streptomycin 1943
Precision-fermented dairy at parity ~2031

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Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Life expectancy in the UK since 1543 Latest: 81.3 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data

Maternal mortality in the UK since 1847 Latest: 9.84 deaths per 100,000 births (2020) Source: Our World in Data

Child mortality (under 5) Latest: 3.74 % (2024) Source: Our World in Data