Scottish physician and microbiologist Alexander Fleming was born on this day, August 6, in 1881 (d. 1955). The laboratory in which Fleming discovered and tested penicillin is preserved as the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, and is where he is pictured in this 1954 portrait.

Yousuf Karsh photographed dozens of subjects related to the world of medicine, including several Nobel Prize winners. All 15,000+ sittings are searchable on this website. See a second portrait of Alexander Fleming, or search on a keyword such as “medicine” and see who you find!