1796: Smallpox vaccine developed
The smallpox vaccine is the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus. Not everyone was on board with Jenner and his vaccine. Rumors circulated at the time that it would turn people into cows. But by 1801, through extensive testing, it was shown to effectively protect against smallpox
In Jenner’s time, smallpox killed around 10 percent of the population, with the number as high as 20 percent in towns and cities where infection spread more easily. In 1821 he was appointed physician extraordinary to King George IV
The last natural outbreak of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949.