Alexander Fleming vs James Brown
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexander Fleming | James Brown | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Musician | Composer |
| Born | 1881 | 1933 |
| Died | 1955 | 2006 |
| 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 →
James Brown
James Joseph Brown Jr. was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, and raised in Augusta, Georgia, in conditions of severe poverty during the Great Depression. He shined shoes, picked cotton, and by his own account wore clothes made from flour sacks. He was arrested for petty theft at sixteen and sentenced to hard labor. What emerged from that crucible was not bitterness, though there was plenty of reason for it — what emerged was the most kinetic, most commanding live performer in the history of American popular music, a man who turned…
Full biography of James Brown →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: SCT and United States.
- 52 years separate their births (1881 and 1933).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Fleming or James Brown?
- Alexander Fleming. Alexander Fleming was born in 1881, James Brown in 1933.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Fleming is filed under Music (Musician). James Brown is filed under Music (Composer).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.