Awards and Honors

With the advent of practical antibiotics brought about by Fleming's discovery of penicillin, contemporary medicine was forever altered. Penicillin has saved and continues to save millions of lives worldwide.

One of the interesting facts about Alexander Fleming is he won numerous other prestigious awards, in addition to the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1944, he received a knighthood, becoming Sir Alexander Fleming. He received the Hunterian Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England; the Fleming Museum was also constructed in his honor and in recognition of his discoveries; and the British Broadcasting Corporation's list of the 100 Greatest Britons in 2002. His image appears on the new 5 Pound notes also, as provided by the Clydesdale Bank!

According to Time magazine's 1999 listing of Fleming among the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century, stating:

This discovery would alter the path of human history. Penicillin, which Fleming dubbed the active component in that mold, turned out to be a highly effective infection-fighting substance. Penicillin would forever change how bacterial illnesses are treated once it was acknowledged for what it was: the most effective life-saving medication in the world. Fleming's discovery gave rise to a massive pharmaceutical industry by the middle of the 20th century, which produced synthetic penicillins that would eradicate some of humanity's oldest ills, such as syphilis, gangrene, and tuberculosis.