Contribution to the Discovery of Penicillin In 1896,the French medical student Ernest Duchesne discovered the antibiotic properties of Penicillium, but failed to report a connection John Burdon-Sanderson (1828-1905) between the fungus and a substance 1871:Penicillium inhibited growth of bacteria that had antibacterial properties,and Penicillium was forgotten in the scientific community until Fleming's rediscovery. Duchesne was posthumously honoured in 1949,5 years after Alexander Fleming had Sir William Roberts (1830-1899) Ernest Duchesne received the Nobel Prize (1874-1912)