Al-Razi (Rhazes)

الرَّازِي

Distinguished smallpox from measles — founded evidence-based medicine

Born: 854 CE, Ray

Died: 925 CE, Ray

Era: Classical

Field: Medicine, Chemistry

Origin: Ray, Persia

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi was a 9th-century Persian physician and polymath. He was the first to clearly distinguish smallpox from measles as separate diseases, introduced alcohol as an antiseptic, and championed evidence-based medicine over authority.