Name/Title
Penicillin moldDescription
In 1928 Alexander Fleming left his laboratory and a culture of growing staphylococcus for a vacation. When he returned he noticed that a mold had been growing in his culture media. To his surprise the (penicillin) mold was able to destroy the staph organisms. It took ten years for Fleming and his associates to isolate and test that mold to make sure it wasn't harmful to anything other than the bacteria. That was the beginning of the antibiotic era. With the millions of lives saved most historians would agree that was one of the most important discoveries in the history of medicine for which Fleming won the Nobel Prize..
His half brother was an optician and prepared several original samples of that mold for presentation which Fleming signed on the back. He gave one sample to Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Pope Pius XII, Franklin Roosevelt, his lab assistant and one to his niece. The one he gave his lab assistant was won by Eli Lilly at an auction and donated to the Smithsonian while you see the one he gave his niece.Condition
Overall Condition
Very GoodDate Examined
Aug 10, 2026Create Date
August 10, 2026Update Date
August 28, 2026
