Joseph Lister: Lister recognized the connection between open wounds Joseph Lister: Lister recognized the connection between open wounds (from injuries and surgeries) and infection. He introduced the practice of hygiene for surgeries (washing hands and surgical tools). Introduced the use of antiseptics. Lister published his findings in 1867, but it was not well accepted by physicians for many years. Alexander Fleming: At the end of World War I, Fleming was looking for a way to kill bacterial infections. He left his lab for a vacation in 1928, and when he returned discovered that a fungus had ruined his experiments by killing many of the bacteria. The fungus that Fleming isolated was from the genus Penicillium, and is recognized today as the fungus that produced the first antibiotic, penicillin.