Alexander Fleming vs Ella Fitzgerald
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexander Fleming | Ella Fitzgerald | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Musician | Composer |
| Born | 1881 | 1917 |
| Died | 1955 | 1996 |
| Country of birth | SCT | United States |
| Star sign | Leo | Taurus |
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 →
Ella Fitzgerald
On the night of November 21, 1934, a seventeen-year-old girl walked onto the stage of the Apollo Theater in Harlem for Amateur Night and froze. She had entered intending to dance — she was a known dancer among her friends in Yonkers — but when she looked out at the audience, something failed. She stood there, in a dress borrowed from a friend, in shoes that didn't fit, before an audience that was already restless. Then she opened her mouth and sang. The audience went quiet. She won first place. The bandleader Chick Webb heard…
Full biography of Ella Fitzgerald →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: SCT and United States.
- 36 years separate their births (1881 and 1917).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Fleming or Ella Fitzgerald?
- Alexander Fleming. Alexander Fleming was born in 1881, Ella Fitzgerald in 1917.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Fleming is filed under Music (Musician). Ella Fitzgerald is filed under Music (Composer).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.