# Ignaz Semmelweis Up: [[Thomas Sowell]] · [[Post Analysis - brivael on Why Musk Is Under Attack (2026-10-24)|post analysis]] (row 8) - Hungarian obstetrician (1818–1865) ◻. In May 1847 he introduced chlorinated-lime handwashing at the First Obstetric Clinic in Vienna, and deaths from puerperal fever fell steeply ◻. - Much of the profession rejected his theory before germ theory existed. He published late (1861) and attacked his critics harshly ◻. - He was committed to an asylum in Vienna-Döbling and died there on Aug 13, 1865, of an infected wound, possibly after a beating by guards ◻. - He gave his name to the "Semmelweis reflex", the rejection of new evidence that contradicts established norms ◻.