Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
Emil Theodor Kocher (25 August 1841 – 27 July 1917) was a Swiss physician and medical researcher who received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. Among his many accomplishments are the introduction and promotion of aseptic surgery and scientific methods in surgery, specifically reducing the mortality of thyroidectomies below 1% in his operations.
He was the first Swiss citizen and first surgeon to ever receive a Nobel Prize in Medicine. He was considered a pioneer and leader in the field of surgery in his time.