Sir Alexander Ogston KCVO MD CM LLD (19 April 1844 – 1 February 1929) was a British surgeon, famous for his discovery of Staphylococcus.

would shower it morning, night and day For every sort of scratch Where others would attach A sticking plaster patch He gave the spray.

[5] Following his examination of the organisms from the abscess of James Davidson, Ogston used the shed behind his house as a laboratory (receiving a grant (£50) from the British Medical Association (BMA), with which he purchased a Zeiss microscope and the methyl-aniline dye used by Koch) to continue his research.

Following Kochs postulates and staining methods, Ogston set about isolating the causative organism of Davidson's wound.

[5] By experiment Ogston concluded that the optimal conditions for cultivation of this organism were hen's egg medium grown in small bottles shielded from contamination by glass 'shades.

[5] Ogston demonstrated that these bacteria could be killed by heat or carbolic acid, fulfilling Kochs postulates.

[5] After a careful study of the evidence presented by Ogston, his contemporary, Joseph Lister agreed with his findings however, another peer, Watson Cheyne was still sceptical.

His wife died in 1873 and he later remarried and they had five children, Alfred James, Douglas John, Helen Charlotte Elizabeth, Constance Amelia Irene, Rose, Alexander and Ranald Frederick.