Jenner, Edward

1749 – He was born on the 17th day of May this year. He is famous as the first doctor to introduce and study the smallpox vaccine.

1770 – He was trained in Sodbury, Gloucestershire as an apprentice to Dr. Ludlow for 8 years from the age of 13, then went up to London in this year. In the years following this year, there were at least six people in England and Germany; Sevel, Jensen, Jesty 1774, Rendall, and Plett who had successfully tested the possibility of using the cowpox vaccine as an immunisation for smallpox in humans.

1773 – He became a successful general practitioner and surgeon, practicing in purpose-built premises at Berkeley.

1792 – He obtained his MD from the University of St Andrews

1796 - In May of this year, he tested his theory by inoculating James Phipps, a young boy, with material from the cowpox blisters of the hand of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid who had caught cowpox from a cow called Blossom. Phipps was the 17th case described in Jenner's first paper on vaccination.

1803 – This year in London, he became involved with the Jennerian Institution, a society concerned with promoting vaccination to eradicate smallpox.

1808 – In this year, with government aid, this society became the National Vaccine Establishment.

1805 – He became a member of the Medical and Chirurgical Society on its foundation in this year, and subsequently presented to them a number of papers. This is now the Royal Society of Medicine.

1811 – He returned to London this year, he observed a significant number of cases of smallpox after vaccination occurring. He found that in these cases the severity of the illness was notably diminished by the previous vaccination.

1821 – He was appointed Physician Extraordinary to King George IV, a considerable national honour, and was made Mayor of Berkeley and Justice of the Peace.

1823 - He continued his interests in natural history and in this year he presented "Observations on the Migration of Birds" to the Royal Society.

1823 – He died of his second stroke on the 26th of January this year.

1980 - The World Health Organization declared smallpox an eradicated disease. This was the result of coordinated public health efforts by many people, but vaccination was an essential component.