Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world’s first vaccine. The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae (‘pustules of the cow’), the term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox. He used it in 1798 in the title of his Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae known as the Cow Pox, in which he described the protective effect of cowpox against smallpox. Jenner was born on 17 May 1749 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England as the eighth of nine children. His father, the Reverend Stephen Jenner, was the vicar of Berkeley, so Jenner received a strong basic education. When he was young, he went to school in Wotton-under-Edge and Cirencester. During this time, he was inoculated (by variolation) for smallpox, which had a lifelong effect upon his general health. At the age of 14, he was apprenticed for seven years to Daniel Ludlow, a surgeon of Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, where he gained most of the experience needed to become a surgeon himself. In 1770, aged 21, Jenner became apprenticed in surgery and anatomy under surgeon John Hunter and others at St George’s Hospital, London. William Osler records that Hunter gave Jenner William Harvey’s advice, well known in medical circles (and characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment), “Don’t think; try.” Hunter remained in correspondence with Jenner over natural history and proposed him for the Royal Society. Jenner married Catherine Kingscote (who died in 1815 from tuberculosis) in March 1788. He might have met her while he and other fellows were experimenting with balloons. They had three children: Edward Robert (1789–1810), Robert Fitzharding (1792–1854) and Catherine (1794–1833). He earned his MD from the University of St Andrews in 1792. Jenner is best known for his discovery of a vaccine for smallpox, a deadly disease that killed around 10% of global population at his time. He observed that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox, a mild disease that caused pustules on their hands, were immune to smallpox. He hypothesized that cowpox could be used to protect people from smallpox. In 1796, he tested his theory by inoculating James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy, with pus from a cowpox blister on the hand of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid who had caught cowpox from a cow called Blossom. Phipps developed a mild fever and some discomfort but no serious symptoms. Later, Jenner inoculated him with variolous material (the matter taken from a smallpox sore), but Phipps did not develop smallpox. Jenner repeated his experiment on several other subjects, including his own son Robert. He published his findings in 1798 in his famous work An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae. He coined the term vaccine from the Latin word for cow (vacca) and cowpox (vaccinia). He also created the terms variolation and variolous to refer to smallpox inoculation and infection respectively. Jenner’s discovery was met with skepticism and criticism from many quarters. Some people objected on religious grounds, claiming that it was unnatural or blasphemous to inject animal matter into human beings. Some doctors doubted the efficacy or safety of the vaccine, or feared that it would spread other diseases. Some people also ridiculed the idea of using cowpox to prevent smallpox, and caricatured Jenner and his patients as having cow-like features. Despite the opposition, Jenner continued to promote and defend his vaccine. He also distributed it for free to anyone who requested it. He corresponded with many physicians and scientists around the world, and encouraged them to conduct their own trials and observations. He also collected and published many testimonies and case reports that supported his claims. He received many honors and awards for his work, including a medal from the Royal Jennerian Society, a gold medal from the Institut de France, and a special medal from Napoleon Bonaparte, who vaccinated his own son with Jenner’s vaccine. Jenner was also appointed as Physician Extraordinary to King George IV in 1821. Jenner was not only interested in vaccination, but also in other aspects of natural history. He was among the first modern scholars to describe the brood parasitism of the cuckoo, a phenomenon that had puzzled naturalists for centuries. He also studied the life cycle of the cuckoo, the migration of birds, the structure of feathers, the hibernation of hedgehogs, and the anatomy of various animals. He was an avid gardener and collected many exotic plants. He also supported many charitable causes and helped improve the living conditions of his fellow citizens. Jenner died of a stroke on 26 January 1823 at his home in Berkeley. He was buried at St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Berkeley, where a monument was erected in his memory. His house, now known as the Edward Jenner Museum, is a place of pilgrimage for scientists and medical professionals. His work on vaccination is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in medicine and public health, and he is often called “the father of immunology”. His legacy lives on in the millions of lives that have been saved by vaccines against various diseases.