oct 29, 1721 - Lady Mary and Variolation; Boston too Gets a Touch of Smallpox Variolation
Description:
Lady Mary had lost her eyebrows and her brother to smallpox. After going to Turkey she found bout variolation where one is exposured to a small dose of a virus to help the body learn to fight in. In 1721 she brought the practice to Europe and the Princess of Wales had a doctor experiment on inmates in prison to test the practice before she used it herself on her children.
At the same time ironically in Boston, Cotton Mather learned of variolation from his slave Onesimus and the practice was put into effect during a smallpox epidemic in Boston of 1721.
Added to timeline:
Disease Through History: Important Points in Human Civilization As Told Through Illness
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