Being Prometheus in 1943: Bringing Penicillin to the Working Man

Abstract

In 1943 the United States was engulfed in World War II, which had forced the American people to make sacrifices. The limited availability of gasoline and certain foods became commonplace nuisances, but by reserving all manufactured penicillin to care for injured soldiers the American people put their own health and safety at risk. Penicillin, which later became known as the "Wonder Drug," had the ability to cure many life-threatening infections for which there was no other therapeutic option. The ability to manufacture penicillin on a major scale was hindered by the belief that the drug could only be grown in a completely sterile environment at academic hospitals. On November 10, 1943, Julius A. Vogel, a plant physician at the Jones and Laughlin Steel Plant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, discovered a method for creating usable penicillin in his kitchen. What became known as "kitchen" penicillin would change an entire nation's view about this medication and help to treat infection in the United States as well as across the globe.