CPersonOTS observer
Ignaz Semmelweis
Hungarian physician (1818–1865), the "saviour of mothers" — one of the first to prove that hand washing saves lives.
In the 19th century childbed fever killed thousands of women in maternity wards. In 1847 Ignaz Semmelweis, working at the Vienna General Hospital, required doctors to wash their hands in a chlorinated lime solution and showed that deaths fell dramatically.
At the time most doctors rejected the idea. Semmelweis was proved right only after his death, with the discovery of germs.
Today he is counted among the pioneers of antisepsis, and the medical university in Budapest bears his name.
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Updated: October 8, 2026