Medical Pioneer. He is famous for his discovery of the smallpox vaccine. A pupil of John Hunter, in 1792, he obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of St. Andrews School of Medicine. He practiced at Berkeley in Gloucestershire, England, where he was born, and pursued his earlier inquiries into the relations between cowpox and smallpox.
Prior to Jenner's discovery, smallpox was greatly feared at the time, as one in three of those who contracted the disease died, and those who survived were badly disfigured. Then, in 1798, fascinated by the old wives' tale that milkmaids could not get smallpox, he theorized that the pus in the blisters which milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, though much less virulent) protected the milkmaids from smallpox.
Jenner tested his theory by injecting the cowpox blister pus of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid, on James Phipps, a young boy. When Nelmes had milked a cow named Blossom, she developed cowpox blisters. Jenner repeatedly injected Phipps with cowpox pus over several days, gradually increasing the dosage. He then injected Phipps with smallpox and the boy became ill. However, after a few days, he made a full recovery with no side effects.
The smallpox vaccine, the use of which, with the support of the King George III, his wife, Charlotte, and their son, George, Prince of Wales, gradually spread throughout Britain and the world. His discovery helped lay the foundations of modern immunology.
In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox an extinct disease. A small museum housing the horns of the cow Blossom now exists in his hometown. A statue of Jenner is in Hyde Park, London.
Prior to Jenner's discovery, smallpox was greatly feared at the time, as one in three of those who contracted the disease died, and those who survived were badly disfigured. Then, in 1798, fascinated by the old wives' tale that milkmaids could not get smallpox, he theorized that the pus in the blisters which milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, though much less virulent) protected the milkmaids from smallpox.
Jenner tested his theory by injecting the cowpox blister pus of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid, on James Phipps, a young boy. When Nelmes had milked a cow named Blossom, she developed cowpox blisters. Jenner repeatedly injected Phipps with cowpox pus over several days, gradually increasing the dosage. He then injected Phipps with smallpox and the boy became ill. However, after a few days, he made a full recovery with no side effects.
The smallpox vaccine, the use of which, with the support of the King George III, his wife, Charlotte, and their son, George, Prince of Wales, gradually spread throughout Britain and the world. His discovery helped lay the foundations of modern immunology.
In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox an extinct disease. A small museum housing the horns of the cow Blossom now exists in his hometown. A statue of Jenner is in Hyde Park, London.
Medical Pioneer. He is famous for his discovery of the smallpox vaccine. A pupil of John Hunter, in 1792, he obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of St. Andrews School of Medicine. He practiced at Berkeley in Gloucestershire, England, where he was born, and pursued his earlier inquiries into the relations between cowpox and smallpox.
Prior to Jenner's discovery, smallpox was greatly feared at the time, as one in three of those who contracted the disease died, and those who survived were badly disfigured. Then, in 1798, fascinated by the old wives' tale that milkmaids could not get smallpox, he theorized that the pus in the blisters which milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, though much less virulent) protected the milkmaids from smallpox.
Jenner tested his theory by injecting the cowpox blister pus of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid, on James Phipps, a young boy. When Nelmes had milked a cow named Blossom, she developed cowpox blisters. Jenner repeatedly injected Phipps with cowpox pus over several days, gradually increasing the dosage. He then injected Phipps with smallpox and the boy became ill. However, after a few days, he made a full recovery with no side effects.
The smallpox vaccine, the use of which, with the support of the King George III, his wife, Charlotte, and their son, George, Prince of Wales, gradually spread throughout Britain and the world. His discovery helped lay the foundations of modern immunology.
In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox an extinct disease. A small museum housing the horns of the cow Blossom now exists in his hometown. A statue of Jenner is in Hyde Park, London.
Prior to Jenner's discovery, smallpox was greatly feared at the time, as one in three of those who contracted the disease died, and those who survived were badly disfigured. Then, in 1798, fascinated by the old wives' tale that milkmaids could not get smallpox, he theorized that the pus in the blisters which milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, though much less virulent) protected the milkmaids from smallpox.
Jenner tested his theory by injecting the cowpox blister pus of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid, on James Phipps, a young boy. When Nelmes had milked a cow named Blossom, she developed cowpox blisters. Jenner repeatedly injected Phipps with cowpox pus over several days, gradually increasing the dosage. He then injected Phipps with smallpox and the boy became ill. However, after a few days, he made a full recovery with no side effects.
The smallpox vaccine, the use of which, with the support of the King George III, his wife, Charlotte, and their son, George, Prince of Wales, gradually spread throughout Britain and the world. His discovery helped lay the foundations of modern immunology.
In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox an extinct disease. A small museum housing the horns of the cow Blossom now exists in his hometown. A statue of Jenner is in Hyde Park, London.
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EDWARD JENNER
1823
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