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Person of the day: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
ACTUALLY the first person to introduce inoculation to Britain.
Everyone always talks about Edward Jenner (who was awesome), but Lady Mary had a good 80 years head start on Jenner, but she's a woman, so we don't talk about it.
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ACTUALLY the first person to introduce inoculation to Britain.
Everyone always talks about Edward Jenner (who was awesome), but Lady Mary had a good 80 years head start on Jenner, but she's a woman, so we don't talk about it.
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Born in 1689 Lady Montagu knew her own mind. Early on she rejected her father's choice of suitor and eloped with a rising politician instead.
When he was posted to the Ottoman Empire as the British Ambassador, Mary insisted on accompanying him.
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When he was posted to the Ottoman Empire as the British Ambassador, Mary insisted on accompanying him.
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She noticed that the Turks were not pock marked from the smallpox, like many people in Britain. After a bit of investigation, she found out why.
The local ladies had found a method of inoculation (called variolation), using smallpox scabs.
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The local ladies had found a method of inoculation (called variolation), using smallpox scabs.
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They powdered the scabs, 'opened the veins' of a child in four or five places, and poked some of the scabs into the holes.
Nice.
But it worked. Some patients became ill, but it was far less risky than waiting around to get smallpox itself.
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Nice.
But it worked. Some patients became ill, but it was far less risky than waiting around to get smallpox itself.
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Lady Montagu had her son and daughter inoculated, and tried to introduce the practice to Britain. Opponents wouldn't believe anything good could come from non-Christians, and certainly not if it was suggested by a woman.
She was still pretty trendy.
She was still pretty trendy.
Lady Montagu managed to convince many of her female friends who had their children inoculated. When Princess Caroline wanted to get her children done, the King insisted on testing first.
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Tests were arranged on prisoners and orphans. Following the tests one of the female prisoners was ordered to sleep in the same bed as a ten year old boy with smallpox for six weeks to see if she would catch it.
All sorts of ethical and safeguarding fun.
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All sorts of ethical and safeguarding fun.
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The King agreed that his granddaughters could be inoculated, but still wouldn't risk his grandsons.
Lady Montagu suspected that one of the main reasons the treatment was rejected was that physicians made a lot of money from treating clients with smallpox.
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Lady Montagu suspected that one of the main reasons the treatment was rejected was that physicians made a lot of money from treating clients with smallpox.
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It was another 80 years before Edward Jenner published his work on inoculating against smallpox with cowpox. People were still suspicious, and satires showed the risks of having tiny cows erupting from every orifice, as below.
(NB, never actually happened)
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(Wellcome images)
(NB, never actually happened)
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(Wellcome images)
The world was eventually declared free of smallpox in 1980.
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