The first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. While studying Staphylococcus bacteria in his laboratory, Fleming noticed that a mold called Penicillium notatum had contaminated one of his petri dishes and killed the surrounding bacteria. This accidental observation led him to identify penicillin as a powerful antibacterial substance. However, at the time, he lacked the means to mass-produce it.

Developing Penicillin into a Usable Drug -
Although Fleming discovered penicillin, it was not until the early 1940s that a team of scientists, including Howard Florey, Ernst Boris Chain, and Norman Heatley, successfully purified and mass-produced it. During World War II, penicillin became a crucial medicine for treating infected wounds and saving soldiers' lives. By 1945, it was widely available and revolutionized medicine, earning Fleming, Florey, and Chain the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.