British obstetrician and gynecologist Patrick Steptoe (1913-1988), gained international acclaim when years of hard work resulted in the birth of the world's first "test tube baby." He and colleague, Robert Edwards, delivered a healthy baby girl that had been conceived through in vitro fertilization.

Early in his medical career, Patrick Steptoe had established a successful practice in obstetrics and gynecology, with a particular interest in the problems of infertility. When he teamed with Robert Edwards in 1966, the two physicians dedicated their professional lives to perfecting a procedure known as in vitro fertilization (IVF). It involves fertilizing a human egg in a laboratory dish and implanting the resulting embryo in the mother's womb. After 12 years of work and research, Steptoe and Edwards achieved success. Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be conceived using this method, was born on July 25, 1978.

Patrick Christopher Steptoe was born in Oxford, England on...