Who developed the vaccine

to cure Smallpox?

Edward Jenner

HH

In 1796, testing his theory, drawn from the folklore of the countryside, he scraped pus from cowpox blisters on the hands of a milkmaid who was immune to smallpox. He inoculated Phipps, the 8 year old son of his gardener, in both arms and no disease followed. He published his paper and was widely ridiculed.  Critics, especially the clergy, claimed it was repulsive and ungodly to inoculate someone with material from a diseased animal.

Smallpox was the most feared and greatest killer of Jenner's time, touching every section of society. It killed Kings, Queens and Emperors as well as the common man. The last naturally occurring case of smallpox in the world was in Somalia in 1977.

Photo: Wellcome Images • Licensed for reuse under CC BY 4.0