Dr Dawson as "the Donald McKay of Medicine"
It all happened in a blindingly fast five weeks leading up to October 16th 1940.
Dr Martin Henry Dawson went from reading vague hints about the clinical possibilities of natural penicillium juice to find its spores to inventing ways to quickly grow and concentrate the substance.
He then gave a needle of it to himself , for signs of human toxicity - and survived.
The very next day, October 16th 1940, Manhattan was the site of the world's first penicillin shots - as Dr Dawson injected his team's 'crude' natural penicillin into two 4F patients (a black and a Jew).
Seventy five years ago next year !
