A. D. Gardner facts for kids

Arthur Duncan Gardner (born March 28, 1884 – died January 28, 1977) was a British doctor and scientist. He is famous for helping to develop penicillin, a very important medicine. He also held a special job at the University of Oxford called the Regius Professor of Medicine from 1948 to 1954.

Early Life and Learning

Arthur Duncan Gardner was born on March 28, 1884. He went to a school called Rugby School. After that, he studied at University College at the University of Oxford. He first planned to study law.

However, after finishing his law degree, he decided to become a doctor instead. This was different from his family's work in law. In 1911, he became a qualified doctor. He also earned a special title called FRCS, which means he was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Gardner then became very interested in pathology, which is the study of diseases. He started writing scientific papers about his findings. During World War I, he worked for a short time as a surgeon for the Red Cross. In 1915, he joined the Standards Council in Oxford. There, he worked as a bacteriologist, studying tiny living things called bacteria. He also became a Fellow of University College.

Helping to Discover Penicillin

In 1936, Gardner became a Professor of Bacteriology. He worked with a famous scientist named Howard Florey at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford. This was a very important time because he joined the team working on penicillin.

Gardner worked with another scientist, Jena Orr-Ewing. They studied how penicillin affected different harmful microbes (tiny living things like bacteria). His research showed that penicillin did not work like an enzyme or an antiseptic. People had thought it did before.

Instead, Gardner proved that penicillin made the harmful microbes swell up. Then, they would either burst or die without being able to divide and make more of themselves. This was a key discovery in understanding how penicillin fought infections.

Important Professor Role

Because of his important work in medicine, Gardner was given a very special job. King George VI appointed him as the Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford. This is a very respected position.

Some people wondered if his friendship with Clement Attlee, who was the Prime Minister at the time, helped him get the job. Gardner and Attlee had met when they were students at University College.

In 1953, Gardner gave a special talk at the University of Cambridge. It was called "The Proper Study of Mankind." After his time as Regius Professor of Medicine, he retired in 1956. He moved to a place called Devon. Arthur Duncan Gardner passed away on January 28, 1977.