G. Raymond Rettew
West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A West Chester chemist, he pioneered the mass production of penicillin, the world's first antibiotic. In 1943, with Wyeth Laboratories, his lab (a converted auto repair shop here) made & sent more penicillin to the Armed Forces than any other lab in the world, saving countless lives on the battlefields of World War II.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In a converted auto repair shop in West Chester, chemist G. Raymond Rettew solved one of World War II's most urgent problems: how to make penicillin in quantity. Working with Wyeth Laboratories in 1943, his lab produced and shipped more of the new antibiotic to the armed forces than any other in the world. The drug that had been a laboratory curiosity became a battlefield lifesaver.
Why it matters
Mass-produced penicillin saved countless soldiers from fatal infection and launched the antibiotic age that reshaped modern medicine.
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- · G. Raymond Rettew
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