LISTER, JOSEPH, BARON LISTER, OF LYME REGIS

born April 5, 1827, Upton, Essex, Eng. died Feb. 10, 1912, Walmer, Kent also called (188397) Sir Joseph Lister, Baronet British surgeon and medical scientist who was the founder of antiseptic medicine and a pioneer in preventive medicine. While his method, based on the use of antiseptics, is no longer employed, his principlethat bacteria must never gain entry to an operation woundremains the basis of surgery to this day. He was made a baronet in 1883 and raised to the peerage in 1897. Additional reading The authoritative biography is Rickman John Godlee, Lord Lister (1917). Other biographies include Rhoda Truax, Joseph Lister, Father of Modern Surgery (1944); and Richard B. Fisher, Joseph Lister, 18271912 (1977).