Joseph lister scientist biography outline

How did joseph lister die

Joseph Lister was a surgeon who introduced principles of cleanliness and antiseptic routines, which drastically helped to improve survival rates from surgery. Overcoming opposition from within the medical profession, Lister successfully advocated and popularised the preventative methods until it became standard practise. Lister was born in Essex to a wealthy Quaker family.

Brought up a Quaker, his education had a greater focus on the natural sciences than a classical education, and from this, he gained an interest in comparative anatomy and surgery. From the age of 16, he wished to become a surgeon. In , he enrolled at University College London one of the few universities open to Quakers , where he studied botany, and later attaining a BA.

Writing to his father, he wrote about how much he felt an inner calling to the profession of being a surgeon. I am more and more delighted with my profession. In , he was present at the first operation performed with anaesthetic in London. In , he moved to Edinburgh where he became an assistant to the famous surgeon James Symes at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

In , he married Agnes Syme, the daughter of his chief surgeon.