Lot Essay
Douglas Hamilton MacLeod M.S. Lond., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.O.G. was appointed to the staff of St. Mary's Hospital in 1935, where Fleming had studied, and been working since qualifying in 1906. It was at St. Mary's that Fleming had discovered the antibacterial properties of penicillium mould in 1928, and that he presented this sample of mould to MacLeod, whom he knew by the nickname "the hielander" (i.e. highlander).
Maurois, in his biography of Fleming, quotes MacLeod's recollection of the presentation: "I asked him what the substance was called. He said that he had given it the name 'penicillin'. I had to admit that I had never heard of it. He asked me to go with him to his laboratory, which I did. He showed me the mould, and actually gave me a specimen, which I still have". Maurois dates this meeting to 1936, whereas the case is marked "1935". However the mould sample was mounted some years later by MacLeod's wife, who must have misremembered the date.
Fleming was made Professor of Bacteriology, University of London in 1928, and awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1945 with Ernst Chain and Howard Florey.
Maurois, in his biography of Fleming, quotes MacLeod's recollection of the presentation: "I asked him what the substance was called. He said that he had given it the name 'penicillin'. I had to admit that I had never heard of it. He asked me to go with him to his laboratory, which I did. He showed me the mould, and actually gave me a specimen, which I still have". Maurois dates this meeting to 1936, whereas the case is marked "1935". However the mould sample was mounted some years later by MacLeod's wife, who must have misremembered the date.
Fleming was made Professor of Bacteriology, University of London in 1928, and awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1945 with Ernst Chain and Howard Florey.