Final answer:
Hippocrates, a Greek physician, is regarded as the father of modern medicine, known for his rational approach to medicine and physicians' ethics called the Hippocratic Oath. He believed in natural causes for diseases, diverging from supernatural beliefs, and was influential through the Hippocratic Corpus.
Step-by-step explanation:
The individual widely recognized as the founder of modern medicine is the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BC). Hippocrates fundamentally transformed the practice and philosophy of medicine by attributing diseases to natural causes, as opposed to supernatural explanations. This revolutionary conception led to a more systematic and empirical approach to healthcare and the practice of medicine. A prominent part of his legacy is the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of early medical works, and the famous Hippocratic Oath, which remains a foundational pledge of ethics for new physicians to this day.
Aside from Hippocrates, the work of Thucydides, who is known as the father of scientific history, provides a significant insight into an early understanding of immunity, as he observed survivors of the Athenian plague did not get re-infected. Another historical figure, Huangdi of China, is revered as a foundational figure in Chinese traditional medicine, enhancing the historical context in which medicine developed across different cultures.