Edward Jenner

Edward Anthony Jenner, known as the founder immunology, created the foundation of modern vaccines by paving the road to wiping out formerly inescapable diseases such as smallpox (source 4.) The results of his work can be seen in modern healthcare. Edward contributed greatly to the research as well as saving numerous lives in his invention of the smallpox vaccine.

Edward Jenner was born on May 17, 1749 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. He was the eighth child out of nine. His father was the vicar of Berkeley and from an early age Jenner received a strong education. Tragically, at the age of five Jenner lost both of his parents and was then further raised by his brother as well as his sister who was soon to marry the soon-to-be vicar of Berkeley as her father had been. From an early age, Edward expressed an interest in country matters as well as rural topics. He often would go to the Severn River to collect items along the banks (source 1.) As he grew older, these interests turned into a longing to study basic scientific and medical studies. Following his schooling in Wotton-under- Edge and Cirencester at the age of thirteen, Edward was an apprentice; he further gained the knowledge to become a surgeon (source 2.)

In 1770, Jenner moved to London to find a famous surgeon by the name of John Hunter. Quickly after they met, they developed a strong relationship and became wonderful friends over the study of human anatomy and medical science (source 1.) Jenner trained under Hunter for three years then moved back to Berkeley; Jenner then became the local practitioner and surgeon. The people who became ill while traveling as well as the townspeople found this very convenient. During his status as a surgeon, he always pushed to do his absolute...

... middle of paper ...

...ges and societies. People would still be isolating themselves or even burning corpses for fear of being infected by the disease. They would basically be in fear their whole lives if it weren’t for Jenner. People say we owe a lot to Jenner for his productivity, leadership, and his quick thinking. As for all the hard time in Edward Jenner’s life, as well as the tragedies he faced, he also saved thousands of live, and with that said I personally believe he earned his place in medical history.

Works Cited

http://www.biographyonline.net/scientists/edward-jenner.html (source 1) http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111006154735AAEIvGb (source 2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/ (source 3)

Book Source: Diversified Health Occupations Seventh Edition Authors: Louise Simmers; Karen Simmers-Nartker; Sharon Simmers- Kobelak (source 4)