Jenner demonstrates that inoculation with cowpox (vaccinia) protects against smallpox. First experimental use of active immunization. The WHO declared smallpox eradicated in 1980 — the only example of complete eradication of a human disease.
InstitutionBerkeley, Gloucestershire
Historical regionKingdom of Great Britain
Primary sourceJenner, E. — An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae (London, 1798). Available: archive.org
Secondary sourceRiedel, S. — "Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination" (BUMC Proceedings, 2005)