1 OF 24

Alexander Fleming

1 of 24 portraits of Sir Alexander Fleming

Alexander Fleming

by Helen McDougall Campbell
pencil, 1944
10 5/8 in. x 8 7/8 in. (269 mm x 227 mm)
Given by George Sommerville Sandilands, 1956
Primary Collection
NPG 3988

Sitterback to top

Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), Bacteriologist and discoverer of penicillin. Sitter in 24 portraits.

Artistback to top

Helen McDougall Campbell (1905-1979), Artist. Artist or producer of 2 portraits.

Linked publicationsback to top

Hackmann, W.D., Apples and Atoms: Portraits of Scientists from Newton to Rutherford, 1986, p. 76
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 221

Subject/Themeback to top

Pencil

Events of 1944back to top

Current affairs

London is hit by the V1 Flying Bomb. This weapon, developed by the German Luftwaffe and colloquially known as the 'Buzz Bomb', or 'Doodlebug', was the first guided missile and was used for attacks on targets in England and Belgium.

Art and science

Laurence Olivier's epic film version of Henry V is released. Olivier directed and starred in the film, which was partly funded by the British government in recognition of its morale-boosting patriotic appeal. The cast included service men as Henry's army.

International

France is liberated from German-occupation following the Battle for Normandy. Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of occupied-France led by Field Marshall Montgomery, was the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million soldiers crossing the channel from England to France. Troops landed on the 6th June (D-Day), and Paris was liberated in late August.

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