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Innoculation for Smallpox
At the request of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Dr. Charles Maitland, successfully innoculates the two daughters of the Prince of Wales. Innoculation involved the placement of a lancet with fresh pus under the skin of a non immune person. The practice, also called Variolation, had been used in Africa and Asia prior to the 1700's, but conservative English physicians remained skeptical until Maitland's success. -
Vaccination invented for smallpox
Edward Jenner innoculated a small boy with cowpox on this day to see if that infection would protect the boy from smallpox. When exposed to smallpox two months later the boy developed no symptoms. Jenner called this procedure vaccination referencing the French word for cow, "vache". -
Modern Nursing Profession Established
On this date, Florence Nightingale embarked for Crimea and the war along with 10 Catholic Sisters, 8 Anglican Sisters and 20 nurses from various hospitals, where they were to establish the principals of modern nursing. Before this time, nursing was not viewed as a suitable vocation for young women. -
Pasteurization Developed
Louis Pasteur completed his first test to prove that bacteria could be removed from beer, wine and even milk by boiling then cooling the liquid. The process became known as Pasteurization. This led to the acceptance of Pasteur's Germ Theory of Disease. -
Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery
Joseph Lister read a paper before the British Medical Association in Dublin, on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, which was reprinted in The British Medical Journal. This established the principles of sanitary practice in medicine. -
First Antibiotic Developed
Alexander Fleming discovered that a sample of Staphlcoccus aureus he had left out had become contaminated with a mold. The colonies near the mold had been destroyed. Further research proved the mold to be Penicillium notatum. The first antibiotic was discovered. -
Polio Vaccine Developed
Jonas Salk had been experimenting for 7 years with a vaccine composed of killed polio virus. He used volunteers the year before, including himself and his wife and sons. On this date, it was made public that the vaccine was effective and within six years the cases of Polio in the US had dropped by 97%.
