Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician who lived in the 19th century. He is popularly known as the “savior of mothers,” for the significant contributions made by him in reducing the post-delivery mortality rate in women. He was one of the early advocates of antiseptic procedures. Semmelweis was born into an affluent family in Buda, Hungary. Following his studies in medicine, he earned a specialization in obstetrics. He was employed as an assistant to a professor at a maternity clinic in Vienna. While working there, he noticed high mortality rates in young mothers, mostly due to puerperal fever. Semmelweis reached the conclusion that this was due to the absence of hand-washing practices among doctors. He introduced the system of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions. Doctors performing autopsies were advised to wash their hands before examining patients. This practice reduced mortality rates markedly. This happened at a time when the concept of germs and related diseases was not discovered. When Semmelweis stressed on the importance of cleanliness in hospitals, he was ridiculed by a large section of the medical community. He was outraged about this indifference. His family suspected that he was losing his mental balance and admitted him to an asylum. Semmelweis died in the asylum 14 days after being admitted there. Years after his death, Louis Pasteur propounded the ‘germ theory,’ which became well-established. Thus Semmelweis’s theories found acceptance only after his death.