Alexander Fleming vs Kurt Cobain
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alexander Fleming | Kurt Cobain | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Musician | Rock |
| Born | 1881 | 1967 |
| Died | 1955 | 1994 |
| Country of birth | SCT | United States |
| Star sign | Leo | Pisces |
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 →
Kurt Cobain
On September 24, 1991, a twenty-four-year-old guitarist from Aberdeen, Washington, released his band's second album on a major label with a budget of $65,000 and expectations calibrated for modest alternative success — perhaps 250,000 copies sold, a strong college radio profile, a tour. Instead, Nevermind by Nirvana sold 300,000 copies in its first week, knocked Michael Jackson off the number one spot on the Billboard 200 by January, and by the time it stopped charting had sold over thirty million copies worldwide. The album did not merely succeed commercially. It ended an era. Within eighteen…
Full biography of Kurt Cobain →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: SCT and United States.
- 86 years separate their births (1881 and 1967).
- Their lifetimes never overlapped.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alexander Fleming or Kurt Cobain?
- Alexander Fleming. Alexander Fleming was born in 1881, Kurt Cobain in 1967.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alexander Fleming is filed under Music (Musician). Kurt Cobain is filed under Music (Rock).
- Were they contemporaries?
- No - their lifetimes do not overlap.