Alexander Fleming vs Chinua Achebe
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexander Fleming | Chinua Achebe | |
| Field | Music | Literature |
| Sub-field | Musician | Novelist |
| Born | 1881 | 1930 |
| Died | 1955 | 2013 |
| Country of birth | SCT | Colonial Nigeria |
| Star sign | Leo | Scorpio |
Who they are
Alexander Fleming
In September 1928, a Scottish bacteriologist returned from his summer holiday to a cluttered laboratory at St Mary's Hospital in London, and noticed something unusual on a petri dish he had left behind. A mould had contaminated one of his cultures of Staphylococcus bacteria — and around the mould, the bacteria were dead. Alexander Fleming did not immediately grasp that he had just made the most important medical discovery of the twentieth century. But he was curious enough to look more carefully, and careful enough not to throw the dish away. That decision would eventually…
Full biography of Alexander Fleming →
Chinua Achebe
Father of African Literature · Author of Things Fall Apart 20 million copies sold · 57 languages translated · Most widely read African novel in history Born November 16, 1930 · Ogidi, Nigeria · Died March 21, 2013
Full biography of Chinua Achebe →
What they share
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Different fields: Music for Alexander Fleming, Literature for Chinua Achebe.
- Born in different countries: SCT and Colonial Nigeria.
- 49 years separate their births (1881 and 1930).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Fleming or Chinua Achebe?
- Alexander Fleming. Alexander Fleming was born in 1881, Chinua Achebe in 1930.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Fleming is filed under Music (Musician). Chinua Achebe is filed under Literature (Novelist).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.