The invention of antibiotics is credited to Alexander Fleming, who discovered the first true antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928. Fleming, a Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital in London, noticed that a mold (Penicillium notatum) growing on a petri dish inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria. This mold produced a substance he called penicillin, which could kill or stop the growth of many harmful bacteria. Fleming's discovery marked the beginning of the antibiotic era, although the mass production and therapeutic development of penicillin took another decade, with key contributions from scientists such as Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and Norman Heatley in the early 1940s.
In summary, Alexander Fleming is credited with inventing antibiotics through his discovery of penicillin, which was the first widely effective antibiotic.
