Edward Jenner was the person who discovered the vaccination. He was born on May 17th 1749 in Berkeley, England. He studied medicine and became a doctor and a surgeon. Edward Jenner was a rural doctor who saved the world. Jenner believed in the theory, “Don’t think--- try” and this belief led him to his great discovery. During 16th to 18th century, Smallpox was a scary disease that killed one third of the people who got it. Many of those who didn’t die were badly scarred. Cowpox was another disease similar to smallpox but less serious. Jenner noticed that people who had cowpox seemed immune to smallpox. On May 14th 1796, Jenner injected a boy called James Phipps with cowpox. He then exposed Phipps to smallpox. The boy didn’t get the terrible disease! Although it was a very risky experiment, it was the first proven inoculation in history. Although smallpox killed millions of people, Edward Jenner’s discovery ended smallpox in 1980. Edward Jenner and his “Don’t think---try” philosophy saved billions of lives and opened the door to other vaccines. Think of Edward Jenner when you get your next Flu shot. He is the true father of Immunology and someone who really made a difference!
