12th January 2014
GCSE Biology: Smallpox and Edward Anthony Jenner
Edward Anthony Jenner was born on the 18th May 1749 and died on the 26th January 1823. Jenner was an English scientist and doctor that grew up in Berkeley, Gloucestershire as the son of a vicar. When Edward turned 14 he started working for a skilled local surgeon called Daniel Ludlow for about 8 years. This apprenticeship was what gave Edward Anthony Jenner the chance to become the famous doctor and scientist he was. When he began working for Ludlow he started training in London so that he could become more qualified. Finally, in 1770 Edward Jenner became experienced enough to start working as a surgeon at St George’s Hospital.
After working at St George’s Hospital for nearly 2 years, Edward decided to return to Berkeley, where he established a small hospital for his home town. In 1796, when Edward realised how many people were dying of smallpox, he conducted his now famous experiment. He conducted the experiment due to the fact that he saw that the milkmaids were not dying of smallpox, so he believed that if you caught cowpox first, you would not die of smallpox. In order to test his theory, Edward Anthony Jenner found an 8 year old boy called James Phipps. |
First, Jenner retrieved some pus from a cowpox pustule, and he then smeared the pus on a cut that he made on the arm of Phipps. As Jenner had expected, Phipps became ill, but he did not die since cowpox is only a mild disease. Once Phipps had recovered, Jenner again made a cut on his arm, but this time he smeared the cut with the pus of a person infected with smallpox. After leaving the boy for a few days (the normal incubation time for smallpox) Jenner concluded that if you receive cowpox before smallpox, you are made immune to smallpox.
A few months after his experiment, Edward Jenner posted a paper to the Royal Society stating that he had found his new cure for smallpox and the workings of his experiment on James Phipps. After reading his report the Royal Society decided that his theory was too farfetched to be true, and they would only believe him if he gathered more evidence. Over the next year Edward conducted countless more experiment on children, and even his 11 month old son. After once again stating his evidence to the Royal Society, Edward Anthony Jenner’s results were finally published in 1798.
A few months after his experiment, Edward Jenner posted a paper to the Royal Society stating that he had found his new cure for smallpox and the workings of his experiment on James Phipps. After reading his report the Royal Society decided that his theory was too farfetched to be true, and they would only believe him if he gathered more evidence. Over the next year Edward conducted countless more experiment on children, and even his 11 month old son. After once again stating his evidence to the Royal Society, Edward Anthony Jenner’s results were finally published in 1798.
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