Leonard Colebrook FRS ( 2 March 1883 – ) was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

 and Bacteriologist
who in 1935 showed Prontosil

Prontosil

Prontosil, the first commercially available antibacterial antibiotic , was developed by a research team at the Bayer Laboratories of the IG Farben conglomerate in Germany...

 was effective against haemolytic streptococcus

Streptococcus

Streptococcus is a genus of spherical Gram-positive bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes and the lactic acid bacteria group. Cellular division occurs along a single axis in these bacteria, and thus they grow in chains or pairs, hence the name — from Greek στρεπτος streptos, meaning...

 in childbirth
and hence a cure for puerperal fever

Puerperal fever

Puerperal fever or childbed fever, is a bacterial infection contracted by women during childbirth or miscarriage. It can develop into puerperal sepsis, which is a serious form of septicaemia. If untreated, it is often fatal....

. He campaigned for the use of gloves

Medical gloves

Medical gloves are disposable gloves used during medical examinations and procedures that help prevent contamination between caregivers and patients. Medical gloves are made of different polymers including latex, nitrile rubber, vinyl and neoprene; they come unpowdered, or powdered with cornstarch...

, mask

Surgical mask

A surgical mask also known as a procedure mask is intended to be worn by health professionals during surgery and at other times to catch the bacteria shed in liquid droplets and aerosols from the wearer's mouth and nose....

, and gown before touching patients and showed that chloroxylenol

Chloroxylenol

Chloroxylenol is an antimicrobial chemical compound used to control bacteria, algae, and fungi in adhesives, emulsions, paints, and wash tanks. It is also commonly used in antibacterial soaps such as Dettol and ointments, such as the now discontinued Medicated Vaseline. Studies have shown a low...

 was both an effective disinfectant and much superior to soap and water for hand cleansing. With his sister Dora, he showed that streptococci were more likely to originate from hospital staff than from the patient.
In 1943 the Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

The Glasgow Royal Infirmary is a large teaching hospital, operated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde,. With a capacity of around 1000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around 20 acres, situated on the north-eastern edge of the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:Designed by Robert...

 MRC Burns Unit which he headed moved to Birmingham Accident Hospital

Birmingham Accident Hospital

Birmingham Accident Hospital formerly known as Birmingham Accident Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre was established in April 1941 as Birmingham's response to two reports, the British Medical Association's Committee on Fractures and the Interdepartmental Committee on the Rehabilitation of...

. where he established the practice of placing the patients in a near sterile environment.