79 Alexander Fleming Trivia Questions with Answers
79 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Alexander Fleming trivia explores the Scottish bacteriologist whose laboratory discovery of penicillin transformed modern medicine. This category covers Fleming’s education, military medical work, antiseptic research, laboratory methods, academic posts, and the scientific details behind his observations. It also reaches beyond biography, including the bacterium associated with gonorrhoea, the medical journal that published his 1917 work, and the later naming of an asteroid in his honor.
The questions suit science classrooms, history lessons, medical-themed quizzes, and challenging game nights. Players will need more than recognition of Fleming’s name: they may be asked about his distinction from St Mary’s, the bacteria affected by penicillin, or the unusual chain of events involving contamination beneath his laboratory. It is a strong category for connecting scientific discovery with personal history.
What asteroid in the Asteroid Belt is named after Alexander Fleming?
Answer
91006 Fleming
In 1966, the penicillin contaminant was traced to whose room below Fleming's lab?
Answer
Charles J. La Touche
Which bacterium causing gonorrhoea did Fleming find was affected by penicillin?
Answer
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
What term describes the bacteria penicillin mainly affected in Fleming's tests?
Answer
Gram-positive
Which laboratory skill helped Fleming conduct his 1917 antiseptics experiment?
Answer
glassblowing
Fleming's 1917 antiseptics article appeared in which medical journal?
Answer
The Lancet
Which institution acquired Fleming's Nobel Prize medal in 1989?
Answer
National Museums of Scotland
Which surgeon received some of Fleming's original penicillin samples in 1928?
Answer
Arthur Dickson Wright
Who was the research scholar in Fleming's first clinical trial of penicillin?
Answer
Stuart Craddock
Who chaired Fleming's 1929 Medical Research Club talk on penicillin?
Answer
Henry Dale
What name was later used for Fleming's 1928 discovery also called penicillin G?
Answer
benzylpenicillin
Which German-British biochemist shared the 1945 Nobel Prize with Fleming?
Answer
Ernst Chain
Which uncle's inheritance helped Fleming pursue medical education?
Answer
John Fleming
Which institution did Fleming attend before St Mary's Hospital Medical School?
Answer
Royal Polytechnic Institution
Which Oxford scientist first proposed the correct structure of penicillin?
Answer
Edward Abraham
What bacterium did Fleming name Micrococcus lysodeikticus?
Answer
Micrococcus luteus
Which Spanish order made Fleming a Knight Grand Cross in 1948?
Answer
Order of Alfonso X the Wise
What was Fleming's share of the 1945 Nobel Prize?
Answer
one third
Which Nobel co-laureate was Chain's head of department at Oxford?
Answer
Howard Florey
Who was Fleming's father?
Answer
Hugh Fleming
Which university's medical school now includes St Mary's Hospital Medical School?
Answer
Imperial College London
What type of scientist was Alexander Fleming besides a physician?
Answer
microbiologist
Which BBC poll included Fleming among the 100 Greatest Britons in 2002?
Answer
100 Greatest Britons
In which city did Alexander Fleming die?
Answer
London
What was the name of Fleming's Suffolk country home?
Answer
The Dhoon
Which mycologist first identified Fleming's mould as Penicillium rubrum?
Answer
Charles J. La Touche
Which Irish physician's work on Staphylococcus aureus influenced Fleming's 1928 study?
Answer
Joseph Warwick Bigger
What military unit was Fleming a private in from 1900 to 1914?
Answer
London Scottish Regiment
Which pathologist first used penicillin successfully for medical treatment?
Answer
Cecil George Paine
Fleming first presented penicillin to which club in February 1929?
Answer
Medical Research Club
On what date did Fleming coin the name penicillin?
Answer
7 March 1929
In 1928, which university elected Fleming Professor of Bacteriology?
Answer
University of London
Which university elected Fleming rector in 1951?
Answer
University of Edinburgh
What was the first name of Fleming's only child?
Answer
Robert
Which eye infection did Cecil George Paine cure with penicillin in 1930?
Answer
conjunctivitis
What phrase did Fleming reportedly say on seeing the contaminated plate?
Answer
That's funny
Which corps did Fleming serve in during World War I?
Answer
Royal Army Medical Corps
Near which Scottish town was Alexander Fleming born?
Answer
Darvel
Alexander Fleming trivia — quick answers
What are good Alexander Fleming trivia questions?
Good Alexander Fleming trivia questions examine his education, research, penicillin, antiseptics, academic career, and scientific legacy. Examples include asking which journal published his 1917 article, which bacterium causing gonorrhoea he studied, and what university post he held from 1951 to 1954.
How hard is Alexander Fleming trivia?
Alexander Fleming trivia is generally moderate to difficult. Most players know Fleming discovered penicillin, but detailed questions about his experiments, medical publications, university appointments, bacterial terminology, and later honors require focused study.
What is Alexander Fleming best known for?
Alexander Fleming is best known for discovering penicillin in 1928. He observed that a mold contaminating a staphylococcal culture produced a substance that inhibited bacterial growth. Fleming named the substance penicillin, helping begin the development of antibiotics that could treat serious bacterial infections.
What did Alexander Fleming discover?
Alexander Fleming discovered the antibacterial substance penicillin after noticing that mold inhibited bacterial growth in a laboratory culture. His observation was published in 1929. Later researchers, including Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, developed penicillin into a practical medical treatment suitable for large-scale use.
Which bacterium causing gonorrhoea was affected by penicillin in Fleming’s work?
The bacterium was Neisseria gonorrhoeae, historically called the gonococcus. It causes gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection. Fleming’s work showed that penicillin could affect this organism, an important observation in the early study of antibiotic treatment for bacterial disease.