Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian obstetrician who disproved the belief that post-operations deaths were caused by 'poison air' in a hospital ward. The work was done by Semmelweis all but removed puerperal fever from the maternity units he worked in. His colleagues and superiors derided his work while he was alive but antiseptic surgery drastically reduced post-operation fatalities. Ignaz Semmelweis was born on July 1st, 1818 near Budapest. His father was a wealthy wholesale grocer.
In 1837 he studied Law at the University of Vienna before changing to Medicine in 1838. In 1844, Semmelweis was awarded a doctorate in Medicine. At the end of his training, Semmelweis decided to specialise in obstetrics. His first medical position came in 1846 when he was appointed as an assistant in a maternity ward at Vienna General Hospital. The number of young mothers who died in the ward after giving…
