Edward Jenner, born in Berkeley in 1749, developed the world's first successful vaccine. Working as a country doctor, he noticed that milkmaids who had caught cowpox seemed immune to smallpox. In 1796, he tested his theory by inoculating a boy with cowpox material and later exposing him to smallpox — the boy was immune. Jenner's discovery led to the eventual eradication of smallpox in 1980, saving countless millions of lives. His home in Berkeley is now a museum. The rolling countryside you walk through between Wotton and Dursley would have been familiar to Jenner on his rounds.
“Jenner's discovery led to the eventual eradication of smallpox in 1980, saving countless millions of lives.”
