Getting Semmelweised: An Essay on Fear and Medical Innovation
The man who saved more lives than any other physician (in the history of humanity combined) died in a mental institution—unrecognized and shunned by the medical community. He was beaten by guards and died a miserable death. Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian obstetrician practicing in the mid-1800’s, years before Louis Pasteur came up with his germ theory and Joseph Lister popularized hand washing.