I stumbled upon this article:
http://exp-platform.com/semmelweisReflex.aspx

And found an interesting extract from it:

“According to Childbed Fever: A Scientific Biography of Ignaz Semmelweis (p. 69) an 1856 publication in a prominent Viennese medical periodical, Viennese Medical Weekly, by Jozsef Fleischer, a student of Semmelweis, showed success of chlorine washings. However, the editor for the periodical wrote at the end of the report “We believe that this chlorine-washing theory has long outlived its usefulness. The experiences and statistical results of most maternity institutions protest against the views presented above. It is time we are no longer to be deceived by this theory.”

Vienna continued to ignore his recommendations. In 1861, he published a book, but the community rejected his doctrine. In 1865 he suffered a nervous breakdown and was taken to a mental hospital, where he was beaten by asylum personnel and died. It took another 14 years for the discovery to be accepted, after Louis Pasteur, in 1879, showed the presence of Streptococcus in the blood of women with child fever. Semmelweis is now recognized as a pioneer of antiseptic policy.”

First of all, I’ve never heard of Semmelweis before this, but I certainly have heard of Pasteur. Second, Semmelweis’ work had literally no impact in the scientific community because it was ignored until Pasteur replicated the findings (upon which everyone suddenly started paying attention, and probably attributed the discovery to him for quite some time).

Finally, and most compelling, taken from Semmelweis’ perspective, this was an utter loss. He found a way to save lives and greatly advanced medical practice (even if he wasn’t quite aware why), and for it, he was variously ignored, denounced, and vilified to the point of his own death. So what if he is now remembered? What good does posthumous recognition do him?