Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, was born in Scotland in 1881 at a farm. He began to go to school when he was five. In 1895 he went to London and decided to dedicate his life to medicine. At first Fleming wanted to become a surgeon but soon he got interested in bacteriology and decided that he was to find his future in research. Sir Alexander Fleming did not have the life which was outwardly very exciting. He spent his working hours in hospitals and laboratories. He went from home to his laboratory every morning and went home from his laboratory every night. He sat in front of his fire and talked to his wife. He taught his son to swim and to fish. It was life that did not seem to be different from the life of the bank manager or the office worker. But it was not so. The great work that he did was done for the benefit of sick men and women. His discovery of penicillin did more to help suffering mankind than anything else for centuries. When he died in 1955 his old friend said: "…by his work he relieved more suffering than any other living man.”