Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources
36th Evacuation Hospital. Oct. 1944. WWII Us Medical Research Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
This photo depicts the hospital situations in WWII. This is important because it reveals
that there werent a lot of sanitary practices because so many people were packed in such
a tiny space. This helps me recognize how important penicillin was to help with hygiene
because infections could spread really easily in such a small area.
Casualty Evacuation by Jeep. 1944. Wellcome Images. L0031963. Wellcome Images. Web. 6
Dec. 2014.
This photo shows wounded/dead soldiers being evacuated from France. This helped me
show the horrors of war and what penicillin could help to prevent.
Chain, Ernst B. "Banquet Speech." Nobel Banquet. Stockholm. 10 Dec. 1945. Speech.
In this speech Chain accepts the Nobel prize while acknowledging the aid it has given to
wounded soldiers and projecting that it will continue to aid many in the future. This is
helpful to my argument because I can compare and contrast to other Nobel Banquet
Speeches, but also because Chain had a very unique view on how penicillin was created.
This helps me clarify my argument that penicillin was helpful on the war front, not just
the home front.
Do with Less so They'll Have Enough. 1943. Learn NC. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This poster was published during WWII encouraging citizens to give up some of their
luxuries so the soldiers could have more. The poster shows a smiling soldier with a large
tin cup and states, "rationing gives you your fair share". This is important to my argument

because penicillin was also being rationed. More than half of it went to the army, and the
rest was used for clinical trials, so the soldiers had the most access to penicillin.
"Ernst B. Chain - Nobel Lecture: The Chemical Structure of the Penicillins".Nobelprize.org.
Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 6 Dec 2014.
This is Ernst Chain's Nobel Lecture about his contributions to the discovery of penicillin
and its chemical structure. It also describes the collaboration between America and
Britain in their efforts to make penicillin available to soldiers to heal them. This was very
helpful to me because it's a primary source, and helped me understand how Chain
contributed. I also learned the physical molecular structure of penicillin which was very
interesting and helped me understand just what penicillin is and how it does what it does.
Ernst B. Chain. 1945. Official Website of the Nobel Prize. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This is a photo of Erst B. Chain. This is helpful for my website because it gives the
readers context about who he is.
Fernandez, Medo. Personal interview. 18 Mar. 2015.
This interview is very important to my project because it gave me a new perspective
about the personal effects of penicillin. My teacher and I were discussing penicillin in the
school library, and the man working on the computers around me simply said, "penicillin
has saved my life several times". I immediately asked him to tell me more, and he
proceeded to tell me how he had strep throat many times as a child and they gave him
penicillin, and it saved his life. This was amazing to me, but the fact that it changed one
random person's life so heavily shows that its healing abilities have really helped a lot of
people. I will use this in my project to show the legacy of penicillin and link its abilities
with a pathetic appeal.

Fleming, Alexander. "Penicilllin." 11 Dec. 1945. Print. Speech transcript.

Fleming's speech discusses the discovery of penicillin and his route to the discovery of
it's processes. He began by studying lyzosomes, another antibacterial agent in spit and
blood, which led him to recognize the chances and possibilities contained in penicillin.
This led to the saving of many lives and the changing of modern medicine. This source is
very helpful to me because it is Fleming's own words and thoughts, as well as the route to
his discovery all laid out in his own words for me to read. This clarified my ideas and
helped me understand the road to this great discovery.
Fleming Recieving the Nobel Prize. 1945. Alexander Fleming Museum. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This photo shows Fleming receiving the Nobel Prize in 1945. This is helpful in talking
about what happened after the war, and also helped me know what the Nobel Prize
physically looks like.
Florey, Howard W. "Banquet Speech." Nobel Banquet. Stockholm. 10 Dec. 1945. Speech.
In his speech, Howard Florey thanks the Nobel prize givers for the presentation of the
Nobel Prize. This is interesting to look at because I can also study the two other
contributors' speeches and see the perspective that they have about their discovery. It was
interesting to note that he mentioned the war and the freedom of science without politics
linked to it, almost in an effort to raise morale.
Gerdes, Kenn, Etienne Maisonneuve, and Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology University.
Exploding Bacteria with Penicillin. Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This video shows bacteria in a time lapse sequence being bursted by penicillin.This is
very helpful to me because it helped me understand how penicillin works and how
quickly it works. This is very useful for my website because it will help my viewers

understand in the same way. The video also provides a sense of astonishment for just how
well penicillin works.
Halevi, Gali. "Military medicine and its impact on civilian life." Chart. Research Trends. N.p.,
Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This chart shows the number of articles about penicillin that have been published from
1939-2012. This is interesting in studying penicillin's' legacy, because it is constantly
written about. It is also interesting to note that the number of articles peaks during a war,
and is now on the rise. This is because of both war and the creation of superbugs, which
is calling the public's eye.
"How Did They Make Penicillin?" US National Library of Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec.
2014.
This graphic shows the process of deep tank fermentation that Pfizer used to mass
produce penicillin. This is very helpful to me because it helps me and the viewers
understand in simple terms the way that the penicillin was purified, and that it wasn't a
simple procedure. It also adds to my argument that penicillin was quite a miracle, and the
fact that someone could come up with that process is amazing.
Jarch, James. A Laboratory Technician examining flasks of Penicillin culture. 1943. PBS. Web.
12 Nov. 2014.
This is a photo of a technician looking at a three tiered jar where a penicillin culture is.
This is interesting to study because it helps me understand the process of purification, as
well as the complexity of the process. It also helps me understand how penicillin looks
when it is fully grown, and while it doesn't add to my argument, heightens my
understanding.

Medic Administering First Aid to a Wounded Soldier. N.d. WWII US Medical Research Center.
WWII US Medical Research Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This photo shows a medic aiding a wounded soldier. This is helpful because it shows
typical army procedures when a soldier is wounded.
"Medical Care." Infographic. History of WWII Medicine. David Steinert, 5 Apr. 2002. Web. 19
Mar. 2015.
This chart is very important because it emphasizes that the percent of wounded men that
died in WWI was halved in WWII. This is a huge advancement, one that penicillin was a
large contributing factor to. The graphic also shows a more simplified version of data I
found on another site, so it helps with the clarity of information.
"9 Firms to Expand to Make Penicillin." New York Times [Washington] 29 Aug. 1943: n. pag.
New York Times. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This article tells how the government authorized nine companies to expand their plant to
mass produce penicillin. It also states how much money each company was to be given.
This is interesting in context because only two days earlier the Army Surgeon General
announced that they needed more penicillin. This was an immediate response, and really
aided the production. This story clarifies my argument that soldier's lives were really
important to the government, as was war morale. The government also realized how
important penicillin was, and showed that through their response.
Paterson, Morton. Letter to George Wong. 2005. TS.
This is a letter to a botany professor about how penicillin changed Dr. Paterson's life
when he was a boy and had osteomyelitis. He had it when he was young and it took a
long time to heal, but when he got it again later he took penicillin and it was gone in a

few days. This shows the life saving effects of penicillin on a personal level, and the
juxtaposition emphasizes how much more effective penicillin was against the previous
medical drugs that doctors used. It was life changing.
Penicillin. Advertisement. History Today 62.9 (2012): n. pag. Print.
This advertisement shows a soldier with a red cross bandage on his arm aiding a soldier
with no visible wound, but obviously sick. Its caption says, "Thanks to penicillin... he
will come home" This brings the emotion into penicillin production because many
Americans had children out at war. This clarifies my thinking and helps me realize that
while it was a big invention for people of the time, there was also an issue with
production, so that was something they had to work really hard to make available to
them, and was the to be fought battle once it was discovered.
"Penicillin." Cartoon. TheScientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
This comic depicts the administration of penicillin into a wounded soldier that's in an
operating room setting. The interesting thing is that the doctors are in the way of the view
of the needle, so they're trying to make it more child friendly. It is interesting that this is
in comic form, because it's making it a sort of hero to kids. This is helpful to me because
it gives evidence that officials were spreading news of this new advance to raise moral,
and helps with my argument that penicillin was a big part of war morale.
Penicillin-A Life Saving Drug. N.d. Image.
This poster depicts a sick man with a medic running over to help him during World War
II. It is promoting the building of a new penicillin making facility and making a very big
part of the war effort. People saw it as their duty to get this medication to wounded
soldiers. The poster turns it into a race, saying give it what you have, and implies death if

not given. This definitely improved the war moral, because there was less of a fear of
death from infections if they had penicillin, so people on the home front weren't as
concerned.
Penicillin Goden Drug of the Battlefront... Blessing of Mankind. Advertisement. SpokesmanReview [Spokane] 8 July 1944: 23. Print.
This advertisement contains the story of penicillin saving the legs of a Marine when they
otherwise would have had to been amputated because of infection. This story creates a
pathetic appeal and helps me to understand the miracle penicillin was to the people who
may have ended up with a disability or dead. I will use this in my project because the first
hand account will personalize penicillin, and help readers truly understand the
importance of its contributions to individual's lives.
"Penicillin Helps Patient." New York Times [Hackensack, NJ] 27 Sept. 1943: n. pag.
NYTimes.com. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
This article tells the story about a 40 year old man with heart problems. HE had a 1 in
10,000 percent chance of living, but he was able to live with the aid of penicillin. This is
a truly amazing story that impresses on me how much penicillin changed people's lives
and chance of living.
Penicillin, Miracle Drug of the War. University Libraries Moving Image Research Collections. U
of South Carolina, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This video shows the process of penicillin purification as carried out in a plant in
Montreal, Canada. It was also a newsreel, shown in the US to raise morale. This is
helpful for my argument because I got to see the physical labor intensive and precarious

process used to make penicillin. It also shows how the possibility of penicillin was lauded
so people would have hope and realize that their soldiers were relatively safe.
Penicillin Products from American Manufacturers. 1940s. National Museum of American
History. US National Library of Medicine. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This is a photo of several bottles and containers that penicillin was distributed in. This is
useful for contextual information and is just interesting to see.
"Penicillin Supply Is Far Short of Demand; Army Gets Less than Half, Says Gen. Kirk." New
York Times [Washington] 27 Aug. 1943: 24. New York Times. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This article is about the amount of penicillin the army got in 1943 and how the Army
Surgeon General said that it wasn't enough. The army got half of all that was produced,
yet it was only enough to treat 100 cases a week. This was interesting because I didn't
know how little the army actually got. In their ads they make it seem like they had all the
penicillin they needed to save all the soldiers, but that was only something for morale on
the home front. This really helped to enhance my argument about penicillin raising war
morale, and also helped me understand how the war conditions really were.
Refining Penicillin-1943 Technition. 23 Feb. 1943. Photograph. Daily Herald Archive.
This photo depicts two "technicians" in a laboratory purifying penicillin. It's a very
interesting picture because they are both depicted as sort of heroes through the way that
they are standing and positioned with the light, because with their work they're saving
lives. This helps me understand the weight that people put behind this discovery and as
well as the complex purification process. They were truly saviors of people's lives.
Ruiz, Mariana. Bacterium Diagram. Adobe Illustrator. N.p., 26 Apr. 2006. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

This is a simple diagram of a bacterium. This is helpful for me because it helps me

understand bacterial structure and function.
Sir Alexander Fleming. 1945. The Official Site of the Nobel Prize. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This is a photo of Alexander Fleming, the man who first noticed penicillin. This gives the
visitors to my site background on who he is.
"Sir Alexander Fleming - Banquet Speech". Nobelprize.org.Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 4 Nov
2014.
This speech explains the process of discovery in Fleming's own words and describes his
feelings as he went about this research. This is very helpful to me because I can
understand the discovery of penicillin from Fleming's perspective, and not just that of
another person unrelated. It is also interesting to note the number of times he mentioned
that it was happenstance, but a good one.
"Sir Howard Florey - Nobel Lecture: Penicillin". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 6
Dec 2014.
This source is Howard Florey's Nobel lecture about penicillin and further researchable
antibiotics. This source is fairly helpful to me, because while it does describe Florey's
contribution to penicillin, but he spends most of his time discussing future studies. It was
very interesting to learn about his further work, and while it didn't really clarify my
argument, helped me get a feel for what penicillin's discovery opened the door for.
Sir Howard W. Florey. 1945. Official Web Site of the Nobel Prize. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This is a photo of Howard W. Florey. This shows my readers who he is so they have
adequate context knowledge.
Soldiers of the 16th Infantry Regiment. 6 June 1944. D-Day. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

This is a picture of wounded soldiers on D-Day. This helped me gain perspective of the
horrors of war and how little could be done to help the wounded immediately on the
battlefield.
"Tell Penicillin 'Marvels.'" New York Times [Baltimore] 17 Aug. 1943: n. pag. Print.
This article tells the story of one of the first people to be saved by penicillin. This is
helpful because it gives me a timetable when penicillin came into use, and that it was first
only in test hospitals before spreading out to other places. It is also interesting to note that
it was first used on children.
Thanks to Penicillin... He Will Come Home. Advertisement. Life 14 Aug. 1944: 97. Print.
This advertisement depicts a wounded soldier getting a penicillin injection on the
battlefield, and then goes on to talk about the fact that penicillin was the best secret
weapon of the war. This was very helpful for my project because the ad exhibits the
efforts that were put into war morale and how well the discovery of penicillin was
lauded. It also has very dramatic yet true text, which could be seen as propaganda but
turns out to be true today, that penicillin revolutionized medicine and improved the
medical world forever. I will use this to exhibit leadership, legacy and the efforts put into
war morale on the home front.
Their Needs Come First. 1943. Envisioning the American Dream. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This poster shows men and women in all different military uniforms. This is important to
my argument because it shows the home front attitude during WWII of doing with less so
the soldiers will be comfortable and the war will in turn be won.
Watts, James. Gram Positive and Negative Bacterium Diagram. VetSci. N.p., 3 Jan. 2011. Web. 6
Dec. 2014.

This diagram shows the membrane differences between gram negative and gram positive
bacteria. This is important because it helped me understand how they are structurally
different and to make a hypothesis about why penicillin works on gram positive bacteria.
The diagram also helps viewers understand the structure of bacteria.

Secondary Sources
"Bacterial Infections." Human Diseases and Conditions. Advameg, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This website described the parts of bacteria and their function as well as how they infect
the body. This was helpful to me because it gave me background on bacteria and in turn
how penicillin fights them. It has enhanced my argument that penicillin is important
because bacteria can easily take over the body, and sometimes our immune systems need
help. Penicillin gives it the help it needs.
"Brief Overview of the Medical Department." WWII US Medical Research Center. N.p., n.d.
Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This website described typical Army medical procedures after a battle and had a few
great pictures included. This was very helpful to me because it helped me get a
background about the order of treatment and who would have gotten penicillin. It was
also interesting to learn about the ranking of medical officials, see statistics about the
numbers of wounded and those who died from their wounds, and medical history in
general. This clarified my argument because I realized just how crucial removing the
bacteria from a wound can be.

The Discovery and Development of Penicillin. N.p.: National Historic Chemical Landmarks
program of the American Chemical Society, 1999. American Chemical Society. Web. 6
Dec. 2014.
This pamphlet described Fleming's contribution to penicillin, and then what happened
thereafter. This is helpful to me because I know what happened chronologically, and what
happened overall so I can narrow my searches to further clarify and know what I'm
talking about. This helped me clarify my argument and writing because I was able to
have a wide perspective and also know dates of when Florey's team started looking
testing animals.
"500 Cases Prove Penicillin's Value." New York Times 26 Aug. 1943: n. pag. Print.
This source lauded the positives and possibilities of penicillin. It used studies from well
known scientists and others to prove that it works. This helps me form my argument in
the fact that the scientists wanted the public educated about the drug, and wanted it to
help people. This also helps me understand how the scientists tried to prove the truth in
their words, and also to get the public on their side.
"Fleming, Alexander." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 2008. 28-31. World History in Context. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
This article mainly discusses the points of Alexander Fleming's life and the points leading
up to his discovery of penicillin. He came from a humble home and through scholarships
he attained a medical education, and ended up working in microbiotics. He discovered
the antibacterial properties of penicillin accidentally, and it was eventually purified by
some of his colleagues. This led to the use of it in the medical fields and the saving of
many lives. This was a very helpful source, because it aided me in the discovery of

Fleming's childhood leading up to his discovery of penicillin. I'm sure it's reliable,
because the facts match the other articles I have read. This did help with my argument
because while it didn't contain much about penicillin itself, I gained background
knowledge.
General Staff. Statistical Branch. The War with Germany, a Statistical Study. By Leonard P.
Ayers. N.p.: Govt. Printing Office, 1919. Print.
Ayers writes a report about the statistics of WWI, specifically in the medical field. This
report was very important for background information, because the enormity of the
numbers of soldiers who caught diseases and died compared to number who died from
bullets. Over 58% of these deaths were also from pneumonia, which penicillin treats, so I
gained perspective about how penicillin could have helped them and also how it has
prevented similar epidemics from happening today. This will help my project capture the
desperate medical situation of wars before WWII, and enhance the story of penicillin
with perspective.
"'Giant' Germicide Yielded by Mold." New York Times [Atlantic City] 6 May 1941: n. pag. Print.
This article is announcing the discovery of penicillin and the fact that it actually works. It
also declared the setbacks though. This is interesting to note because while the potential
was emphasized, the negatives were equally shared. The article writer seemed a bit
skeptical. This helped me realize that not everyone jumped on the penicillin bandwagon
all of the sudden, and it was tested by the public before acquiring its fame.
"Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris Chain." Chemical Heritage Foundation. N.p., 2010.
Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

This website was very helpful to me in my argument. It explained what Howard Florey
and Ernst Chain's contributions were to the development of penicillin and their tests on
purification methods. The article also discussed how mass production methods were
developed in America. This helped me understand the overall contributions that have
been made to the development of penicillin, and doens't just focus on one aspect. I can
use this as a jumping point for further research.
"Penicillin." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Ed. John
Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1998-2000.
World History in Context. Web. 26 Sept. 2014
Penicillin revolutionized the way infections and disease are treated today by antibiotics.
The main issue was the manufacturing ability. Penicillin soon became a positive in the
war effort and gained a high reputation. There were still negatives, such as the fact that
some were allergic to it and some bacteria were resistant, but penicillin continued to
enjoy a high reputation. Later, companies began searching for other antibiotics and found
them, aiding in the destruction of some bacteria resistant to penicillin. This source was
very helpful. It spelled out the positives and negatives of penicillin very nicely though
and seemed pretty reliable. There wasn't much of a bias, and the objective was to give an
overview of the invention of penicillin, and the effect it made on the medical
paradigm. "Penicillin" aided me in my overall understanding of the importance of
penicillin. IT helped me consider the fact that while the discovery was a big positive,
there were also some negatives.
"Penicillin." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 3: 1920-1929. Detroit: Gale,
2001. U.S. History in Context. Web. 3 Oct. 2014

This article revealed that the discovery of penicillin was only happenstance, because the
mold had been on the culture plate before the bacteria was applied. Fleming was also
unable to complete his projects, needing the help of a group from Oxford and eventually
winning the nob el prize. This article was helpful because it emphasized the chance of the
discovery of penicillin. It was a very lucky break and could not have happned had it not
been for Fleming's search for a substance with antibacterial attributes in his work.
Penicillin Production through Deep Tank Fermentation. N.p.: American Chemical Society, 2008.
Print.
This pamphlet describes how Pfizer came upon the process of deep tank penicillin
fermentation and how they rose to become on of the highest producers of penicillin
during WWII. This is very helpful to me because it helps me understand the complex
process of penicillin purification and how it was done before it was synthesized. The only
limitation was that it talked only about Pfizer, and while they did develop the method
they weren't the only ones to use it during the war. Other than that, it was a very helpful
source to read through.
"Pfizer Inc: Exploring Our History 19001950." Pfizer Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
This timeline on the Pfizer website was very helpful to me in understanding the timetable
the deep-tank fermentation was invented in. It was very fast after the British scientists
turned to America for help. This is important to my argument because it exemplifies how
quickly the discovery and production of penicillin came about. The goal was to get it
produced quickly to help soldiers, and that's what happened.

Price, Andrew. "Antibiotics." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl
Mitcham. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 84-86. World History in
Context. Web. 7 Oct. 2014
Antibiotics are both helpful and can be too much of a good thing. Penicillin was one of
the first antibiotics, and the first to be used in human applications. When prescribed
correctly, it cured many diseases and saved many lives, yet it and all other antibiotics are
often over prescribed. This causes the bacteria to mutate and become immune to the
antibiotic, and renders it useless in that application. This is helpful to me because it
helped me understand some of the shortcomings of penicillin, and how antibiotics work
in general. This is different from my other sources in the fact that it told me what the
penicillin did and not necessarily just who it was discovered by. The author was very
successful in giving both sides of the arguments.
Shama, Gilbert. "Kulturkampf: The German Quest for Penicillin." History Today 3 Mar. 2003: n.
pag. History Today. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
This article told the story about the German quest for penicillin during WWII and how
they were unable to develop the antibiotic themselves. I found this very important to my
project because the knowledge that the American Allies were the only ones with
penicillin emphasizes its importance during the war as a secret weapon. America and its
allies were able to have more healthy soldiers in action with less of a fear of disease
(including STDs), and also helped the civilians on the home front have some comfort that
their loved one may make it home.
"Teixobactin: Powerful New Antibiotic Kills Drug-Resistant Bacteria." Sci-News. N.p., 9 Jan.
2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

This article was especially helpful to me with the legacy aspect of my project, because it
helped me see the antibiotic developments that are being made today with new
technology. Using the iChip, scientists have been able to pinpoint a soil bacteria that
makes a strong antibiotic with little chance of bacterial resistance. This is especially
important because many superbugs are being developed today, and teixobactin could
change the potential for antibiotics to run out. The beginning of this bacterial
development was penicillin though, and it continues to inspire new technology.