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Edward Jenner
Life Details
Born: May 17th 1749. Died: January 26th 1823.
Introduction
An English physician, Edward Jenner was one of the first scientists to create a vaccine. His work was pioneering, and led to the saving of countless lives. He is often referred to as "the father of immunology".
Early Life
The son of Reverend Stephen Jenner, Edward was the eighth of nine children born in Gloucestershire. He went to school in Wotton-under-Edge and had a good education, being taught the basics that were necessary.
When old enough, he would leave Gloucestershire to travel to London to train as a surgeon. Before this, when he was younger, he received an inoculation againt smallpox. It was considered that a small, brief infection from it would provide protection in the future. This has a life-long effect on Jenner, and he would see to it that a proper vaccine would happen.
Jenner joined Daniel Ludlow, a surgeon from Gloucestershire as an apprentice. While here, one occasion occured when a milkmaid said she was safe from smallpox because she had had cowpox. This sat with Jenner, who in 1770, completed his training at St George's Hospital.
His work here with an esteemed surgeon by the name of John Hunter was highly influential in his life, along with the phrase coined by Hunter, "don't think, try". He was soon recognised by the Royal Society, but went on to continue being a family doctor in Berkeley.
A group of doctors met up unofficially on a regular time at the Fleece Inn in Rodborough, and would discuss issues they had. It was during this time that Jenner made valuable contributions to a variety of medical papers.
Jenner made observations on the young hatchlings of Cuckoos, and his discoveries there were published by the Royal Society in 1788. He married Catherine Kingscote the following year, and would have three children. His wife passed away in 1815 as a result of tuberculosis.
Cowpox
Jenner would make significant connections between cowpox and smallpox, and constantly noted the words uttered by the milkmaid from his earlier experiences. This theory that one pox would counteract another is the way vaccines were created, even up to present day.
Trying to prove his theory, in 1796, he conducted an experiment with Sarah Nelmes, where he took pus from the hand of her while she was suffering with cowpox, and placing it in an incision of a young boy named James Phipps. An unethical approach, after several days, the boy was subsequently found to have grown immunity against it.
Later Life
These findings paved the way for a vaccine to smallpox to be made, using cultures from cowpox. Although his work was widely ridiculed, the science behind it, showing that someone would go on to make a full recovery from the disease, or be vaccinated from it and not contract it at all won over those critics.
It wasn't his only work. Jenner was a keen fossil collector, and dabbled in horticulture. He worked on a various other areas of medications and developments. He later died in January 1823.
