1940

In March, Norman Heatley discovers how to extract penicillin from an ether solution without its vanishing in the process: he transferred penicillin (an acid) out of ether into water made alkaline; the back-extracted watery solution, which contained penicillin, was stable and remained active after 11 days at room temperature (Lax, 103-06). “Mouse protection trial” begins on May 25 at Florey’s lab in the Dunn School of Pathology (Oxford), demonstrating effectiveness of penicillin (thought to be pure but actually less than .5% pure) against deadly dose of streptococcus in mice (Lax, 118-120). On June 22, Pétain surrenders France to Nazis and becomes head of Vichy government; on July 10, Battle of Britain begins. On August 24, Lancet publishes Oxford Unit’s initial publication, a two-page article entitled “Penicillin as a Chemotherapeutic Agent” (138-39). Jan-June, 1941: first human tests of penicillin for various staphylococcal infections by the Oxford Unit (152-56;165-68; Macfarlane, 183-87).