Alexander Fleming | Origin of Street Names

Sir Alexander Fleming (1881 - 1955) is one of the greatest scientists in the field of medicine, best known for the discovery of one of today's most significant antibiotics - penicillin. For this discovery, he, along with his colleagues Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.

Born in the Scottish village of Ayrshire to farmer parents, he was sent to London, to the Royal Polytechnic Academy of Westminster University, after completing primary school. Through his military service, he had the opportunity to participate in research on the medical use of vaccines by Dr. Almroth Wright, which sparked his interest in microbiology and bacteriology.

Becoming a professor of bacteriology and immunology in 1928, Fleming accidentally noticed during his study of the development and reproduction of staphylococcal bacteria that mold or fungus had formed on a set of dishes used for sample testing. Upon microscopic observation, he noticed a clear zone, or a ring, without bacteria around the mold, and he named the substance contained in the mold that exhibited this antibiotic effect "penicillin." Despite recognizing its medical potential, Fleming was unable to stabilize and purify the substance for everyday treatment.

His discovery was further developed and brought to a higher level by Australian scientist Howard Florey and German Ernst Chain, making penicillin applicable in medicine as a regular and highly effective drug, which had mass and industrial production in the 1940s. Therefore, the credit for this miraculous medical discovery rightfully belongs to all three, but Alexander Fleming remains the primary name associated with this breakthrough.

As a result of this achievement, he received a knighthood and the title of "Sir," becoming a global ambassador for science and medicine. He passed away in 1955 and was buried in London.

Today, the name of the great Scottish scientist is carried by streets in Palilula, Belgrade, Kragujevac, Kruševac, and Dimitrovgrad.