Hippocrates ordering plague clothes burnt, 17th century engraving. Hippocrates (right) lived from around 460-377 BC in Ancient Greece. He is known as the 'Father of Medicine' for his revolutionary ideas on natural causes for disease and his ideas on cleanliness. When the plague broke out he said people should burn their clothes and boil water to prevent the spread of disease. This idea would not be widely rediscovered for over 2000 years. This French engraving is in the library of the National Academy of Medicine, Paris, France.