Edward Jenner, portrait

Item

Title

Edward Jenner, portrait

Description

English physician and scientist Edward Jenner is credited with pioneering the concept of vaccines, having developed an effective inoculation for smallpox in the 1790s. Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had recovered from a milder disease, cowpox, appeared to have a natural immunity to smallpox. In 1796, Jenner tested the theory by inoculating an 8-year-old boy, James Phipps, with a live cowpox specimen. After he recovered, Jenner inoculated James with live smallpox and confirmed the boy was protected.

Identifier

4.12.2d.2

Rights

An Inquiry into the Effects of Variolae Vaccinae by Edward Jenner, 1798, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Rare Book Collection

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