Joseph Lister (1827–1912)
Came up with an idea for disinfecting wounds, and by now he could rest his arguments on Pasteur's work, unlike Semmelweiss who lived too early.
Came up with an idea for disinfecting wounds, and by now he could rest his arguments on Pasteur's work, unlike Semmelweiss who lived too early.
After a bunch of people advised the USGov to build an atomic bomb, Oppenheimer was tasked with overseeing the project at Los Alamos. Seeing the first ever nuke go off, he regretted his participation, saying "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds".
Birthday: 1 July
Worked in Vienna, got child mortality down tenfold by requiring the surgeons to wash their hands. Regardless this was unpopular and he was forced to resign! He then worked in a town in Hungary and got the child mortality down tenfold there too, while the hospital in Vienna bounced back to its old mortality rate.
Semmelweiss never learned why washing your hands worked. He spent his life fighting authority, and died depressed. 1 July is Ignaz Semmelweiss Day.
Recreated the work of Aristarchos of Samos (310–230 BCE), and touched public awareness this time. Died on publishing his work in 1543, so never met his critics. The publishing was simultaneous with Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564)'s massive update to anatomy.