Joseph Strnad was a charismatic person who lived in Vienna and Zurich in the first half of the 20th century. He created surgical instruments that are still famous for their functionality and quality. His life story and his contribution to surgery were told by his daughter on the occasion of the donation of her father's tools to the Museum of History of Medicine at the University of Ioannina, as well as in thank you letters to Strnad from famous surgeons.