
The Smallpox Vaccine
Edward Jenner, an English physician, observed that milkmaids who contracted cowpox, a relatively mild disease, appeared to be immune to smallpox. Intrigued by this observation, he conducted an experiment on a young boy named James Phipps. Jenner inoculated Phipps with material from a cowpox sore and later exposed him to smallpox, only to find that the boy remained unaffected. This accidental discovery laid the foundation for the concept of vaccination, as Jenner realized that exposure to a milder disease could confer protection against a more severe one. The development of the smallpox vaccine marked a turning point in the history of medicine, leading to the eradication of smallpox, a disease that plagued humanity for centuries.