Edward Jenner, an English physician, is credited with discovering and developing the first successful smallpox vaccine in 1796.

Quick Scoop: Who Discovered the Smallpox Vaccine?

  • The smallpox vaccine was pioneered by Edward Jenner, a rural doctor from Gloucestershire, England.
  • In 1796, he used material from cowpox sores to protect a young boy, James Phipps, against smallpox, proving the concept of vaccination.
  • Jenner published his findings in 1798 in a work titled An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae , which helped spread vaccination across Europe and beyond.
  • Earlier, some farmers and doctors had experimented with cowpox to prevent smallpox, but Jenner’s careful experiments and documentation made his method widely accepted as the first reliable vaccine.

In today’s terms, Jenner turned a piece of folk observation (“milkmaids don’t get smallpox”) into a tested, published medical breakthrough that laid the foundation for modern immunology.

TL;DR: Edward Jenner is recognized as the discoverer of the smallpox vaccine and the pioneer of vaccination as a medical practice.

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