Monday, May 17, 2010

Pox


The fellow above is one Edward Jenner born this day 1749 in Gloucestershire, England. He first trained as an apprentice to a surgeon for eight years, before he moved up to St. George's Hospital to study surgery and anatomy. From there he went on to become the "Father of Immunology." He is the fellow given the most credit for discovering the vaccine for smallpox, using the less virulent coxpox to infect people, and making them immune to smallpox. It is said of him that his work saved more lives than the work of any other man. I still have my little smallpox mark on my shoulder, so I should give personal thanks to Mr. Jenner. He got the notice he deserved in his lifetime (so few of us do) and was appointed Physician Extraordinary to King George IV in 1821. So for those wonderful discoveries that saved a shit ton of lives, Edward Jenner (May 17th, 1749-January 26th, 1823, at the age of 73 from a stroke), you are my (266th) hero of the day.

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