On this date in 1865, Lord Joseph Lister, M.D., became the first surgeon to use a disinfectant during an operation. Using lint soaked in carbolic acid, Dr. Lister disinfected the left leg of 11-year-old Jimmy Greenlees, whose fractured tibia was poking through his skin. An English surgeon, Dr. Lister applied Louis Pasteur's theory that bacteria cause infections, contributing significantly to modern surgery. The doctor also developed absorbable sutures, the drainage tube and numerous surgical procedures. His name lives on in the product Listerine, which was developed by one of his contemporaries and named in his honor.

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