Chapter 04 of 5
Calling Them Murderers
A long-awaited book, a cold reception and a series of furious open letters.
- Home
Back to Hungary
Semmelweis settled in Pest, now part of Budapest. He had been born just across the Danube, in Buda, in 1818.
- The Post
St Rochus Hospital
In 1851 he took an unpaid post in charge of the maternity ward at St Rochus Hospital, where childbed fever was rife.
- The Results
It worked again
With his handwashing rules, deaths from the fever there fell below 1%.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
How did Semmelweis respond when his book was rejected?
🧼 The Doctor Who Said Wash Your Hands
- 01The Two ClinicsWhy giving birth in one Vienna ward was far deadlier than in the ward next door.
- 02A Fatal CutA friend's death in the dissecting room revealed what doctors were carrying.
- 03Chlorine and SilenceThe handwashing rule that saved hundreds, and the doctors who refused to believe it.
- 04Calling Them MurderersA long-awaited book, a cold reception and a series of furious open letters.
- 05The Germ of TruthA lonely death, a vindication that came too late, and why we still talk about him.