TERRE HAUTE —
Had Sir Alexander Fleming’s mom raised a tidier son, who knows how many people would have died needlessly of infectious diseases?
As it was, during the early years of the 20th Century, hundreds of thousands did die needlessly, a number that grew exponentially during World War I, when more soldiers died from bacterial infections caused by their wounds than they did by the wounds themselves — something Fleming, a young doctor working in battlefield hospitals during the war, saw firsthand. And so, after the war ended, Dr. Fleming returned to St. Mary’s hospital in London to search for a cure for bacterial infections.
His first breakthrough was the discovery of the antibacterial agent lysozyme, an enzyme found in many bodily fluids, including tears. However, lysozyme was ineffective against serious infections such as those caused from war wounds, so Fleming kept looking.
His research took him down many paths, which meant many experiments using Petri dishes to grow bacterial agents. And as is often the case with dedicated researchers, Fleming did not always have the time or inclination to perform the mundane task of cleaning those dishes, meaning they would often pile up in the sink, to be washed when he got around to it. But one day when he began cleaning up a pile of Petri dishes that had collected on a bench, he noticed a mold had grown on one of the dishes. This was, of course, a not uncommon byproduct of leaving dirty dishes around for too long, but what Fleming considered very uncommon was the fact that all of the staph bacteria surrounding this mold had died.
Further experimenting, he eventually determined that the mold was Penicillum notatum, and that it prevented the growth of staphylococci (bacteria). Fleming also found that this penicillin, as he finally named it, was particularly effective at preventing bacteria in wounds, and was almost completely harmless to the human body.
It was the medical breakthrough of the age, yet when Fleming published his findings this week (Feb. 14) in 1929, it attracted very little notice until two chemists working on antibacterial chemicals at Oxford University in the 1930s read Fleming’s paper and took his findings several steps further, finally injecting penicillin into live mice, and later into selected human subjects.
Their experiments were an unqualified success, which by 1943 — with a world war once again raging in Europe — led to the mass production of penicillin and the saving of countless thousands of lives.
Sir Alexander Fleming — he was knighted in 1944 — died in 1955, having never been awarded the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the cleanliness of his laboratory. But he did manage to collect the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945.
Bruce G. Kauffmann’s email address is bruce@historylessons.net.
History
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: The medical breakthrough of the age: Fleming discovers Penicillin
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSON: Emperor Constantine changes the world
The Emperor Constantine, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and the man who ended that empire’s persecution of Christianity, died this week (May 22) in 337 AD, having lived a life that would change the world.
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GENEALOGY: Library archives contain tons of information
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Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star. -
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From the unfortunate occurrence of Prince Albert’s death in 1861 came the social mores of proper mourning practices and accoutrements witnessed and endorsed by the admirers of Queen Victoria in her reign-long state of grieving.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: League of Women Voters reorganizes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Here comes the bride
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Our very last constitutional amendment — the 27th Amendment — was ratified this week (May 7) in 1992 when Michigan became the 38th state to approve it.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The Haymarket Square Massacre
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Stands packed as Wiley takes county track title
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and the Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Death of Terre Haute jeweler gains national headlines
Terre Haute sought national publicity in 1910 through “Boosterism,” lauding the city’s significant advancements during the decade ending Dec. 31, 1909.
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GENEALOGY: Cemetery Committee to conduct restoration workshop
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Harmonious history
In 1923, a group of singers calling themselves the Harmony Four entertained regularly over the radio and at civic and various club events.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: Cleveland observes Lincoln’s funeral
The death of America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, resulted in an outpouring of national mourning, the apex of which came in late April of 1865 when a specially outfitted train carried his body on a thirteen-day, 1,700-mile, eleven-city funeral procession from Washington, D.C., to his home and final resting place in Springfield, Ill.
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GENEALOGY: Many people can trace ancestry to Titanic
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: ISU bowling team at nationals again
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Sullivan County mine explosion kills 8 in 1878
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A common feature, but memorable
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSONS: MLK’s letter written from a jail cell in Birmingham
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Swope celebrates 20th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1955 Babe Ruth League championship team to be feted
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GENEALOGY: Long-awaited 1940 census is now available for the public
The long-awaited release of the 1940 census took place on April 2.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Memories baked from scratch
On my Historical Treasure hunt, I was drawn to a pasteboard barrel 28 inches high and 18.5 inches across with the words “Calumet Baking Powder Bakes Best, Received Highest Award” on one side and “Calumet Baking Powder Always Pleases, Try It” on the other.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Thomas Jefferson's flights of fancy
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: J.K. Emmet’s first appearance at the Terre Haute Opera House
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GENEALOGY: Black Death had a monumental effect on world
One event in the past had a monumental effect on our ancestors, indeed determining who they would be. This was the advent and spread of bubonic plague, the Black Death. The plague originated in China in 1333. It was caused by a bacterium in fleas, which were carried by rats. The plague spread out of China via trading routes with the West (the Silk Road) and especially on ships, which carried flea-infested rats and provided a closed environment for people to infect each other.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: 'Banana king' opens Farmer's Market
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Hunting for sugary Easter treats
Among the many varieties of the Easter egg, none is more charming than the panoramic Sugar Egg. Three were recently given to the Vigo County Historical Museum by Judy Lowe and are shown in an Easter-themed display case in the entry hall.
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