Florey, Howard Walter, Baron

Florey, Howard Walter, Baron

(born Sept. 24, 1898, Adelaide, S.Aus., Austl.—died Feb. 21, 1968, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Eng.) Australian pathologist. Educated in Britain and the U.S., Florey taught at the University of Oxford from 1935. Investigating tissue inflammation and secretion of mucous membranes, he succeeded in purifying lysozyme, a bacteria-destroying enzyme found in tears and saliva, and characterized the substances it acted on. He surveyed other naturally occurring antibacterial substances, concentrating on penicillin, which he, with Ernst Boris Chain, isolated and purified for general clinical use. The two demonstrated penicillin's curative properties in human studies and developed methods for producing it in quantity. In 1945 he shared a Nobel Prize with Chain and Alexander Fleming, and in 1965 he was created a life peer.