The life and legacy of Dr Edward Jenner FRS, pioneer of vaccination - Dr Tim Wallington

Known to many as "the father of immunology", Edward Jenner changed the path of world history on the 14th of May 1796 when he inoculated his gardener's 8-year-old son with cow pox, subsequently demonstrating that this induced immunity to smallpox by challenging him with smallpox infected material. This was the scientific birth of vaccination. It was the product of a long gestation but that was not the end of Jenner's endeavour. He had to battle to have his ground-breaking medical discovery recognised and implemented so that lives were saved. He was so successful that vaccination was in use world-wide in his life time and although it was almost two centuries before smallpox was finally eradicated millions of lives were saved and the principles established that led to the discovery of vaccines to other infectious diseases. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and... Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/