Mouseover the event title for a more detailed description of the event (if available). To search for particular terms in the description of the event enter the term in the box below 'Event' on the table and press 'enter'. Alternatively use the dropdown lists to filter by Person, Place or Science. Click here to clear the filter.
| Date |
Event |
People |
Places |
Sciences |
Fuller was a physician who practised in Sevenoaks, Kent. Long before the discovery of microbes, Fuller recognised that diseases like measles and smallpox were caused by the 'venom' of a particular organism. He was also one of the first to recognise the specificness of an infection and immunity. Fuller collected and published the best medicines in his Pharmacopoiea, which appeared in at least 12 editions. He was also an early advocate of smallpox inoculation. 1654-06-24T00:00:00+0000| 24 Jun 1654 | | Thomas Fuller was born in Rosehill, Sussex, UKFuller | | Immunology, Vaccine |
Fuller was an English physician who practised in Sevenoaks, Kent. Long before the discovery of microbes, Fuller recognised that diseases like measles and smallpox were caused by the 'venom' of a particular organism. He was also one of the first to recognise the specificness of an infection and immunity. Fuller collected and published the best medicines in his Pharmacopoiea, which appeared in at least 12 editions. He was also an early advocate of smallpox inoculation.
1734-09-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Sep 1734 | | Thomas Fuller diedFuller | | Immunology, Vaccine |
Jenner was an English physician who helped pioneer the smallpox vaccine based on his hypothesis that the pus in blisters milkmaids received from cowpox protected them from smallpox. To test out his theory in 1796 he inoculated the 8 year old son of his gardener with pus taken from the cowpox blisters of a local milkmaid. While the boy suffered a fever he showed no sign of infection with smallpox. Jenner then injected the child with smallpox material, a common method of immunisation at the time, known as variolation. Again he showed no sign of infection. Following this, Jenner tested the same technique in 23 further people. Based on his success, in 1840 the British government outlawed variolation and provided Jenner's method for free to prevent smallpox. Jenner's work laid the foundation for immunisation as a method for preventing disease and for contemporary discoveries in immunology. 1749-05-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 May 1749 | | Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley, UKJenner | | Immunology, Vaccines, Infectious diseases |
Edward Jenner, English physician, inoculated a child with material taken from cowpox pustles to protect him from smallpox. 1797-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1797 | | First smallpox vaccination Jenner | | Vaccines, Infectious diseases |
Jenner was an English physician who helped pioneer the smallpox vaccine based on his hypothesis that the pus in blisters milkmaids received from cowpox protected them from smallpox. To test out his theory in 1796 he inoculated the 8 year old son of his gardener with pus taken from the cowpox blisters of a local milkmaid. While the boy suffered a fever he showed now sign of infection with smallpox. Jenner then injected the child with smallpox material, a common method of immunisation at the time, known as variolation. Again he showed no sign of infection. Jenner then tested out the same technique in 23 further people. Based on his success, in 1840 the British government decided to outlaw variolation and instead provide Jenner's method for free to prevent smallpox. Jenner's work laid the foundation for immunisation as a method for preventing disease and for contemporary discoveries in immunology. 1823-01-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Jan 1823 | | Edward Jenner diedJenner | | Immunology, Vaccines, Infectious diseases |
Wright was a bacteriologist and immunologist who pioneered the development of a vaccine against typhoid in the 1890s. Initially the British military authorities were reluctant to roll out the vaccine, but limited trials during the Boer War proved its value. Further trials conducted among 3,000 soldiers in India confirmed its efficacy and the War Office used it to vaccinate British troops at the outset of World War I. Wright also developed vaccines against enteric tuberculosis and pneumonia. He also instrumental in research to understand how blood enzymes make bacteria more susceptible to phagocytosis by white blood cells. 1861-08-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Aug 1861 | | Almroth E Wright was born in Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire, UKWright | St Mary's Hospital | Bacteriology, Immunology, Vaccines |
Calmette was a physician and bacteriologist who is credited with the discovery that the virulence of bovine tubercle bacilli is weakened when cultured on bile-containing medium. Discovered in 1908, this paved the way to the development of the tuberculosis vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The vaccine was first used in newborn infants in Paris in 1921. Calmette also developed a diagnostic test for tuberculosis, known as Calmette's reaction. 1863-07-12T00:00:00+0000| 12 Jul 1863 | | Albert Calmette was born in Nice, FranceCalmette | Pasteur Institute | Vaccines |
Nicolle was a French bacteriologist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903 for identifying lice as the transmission vector for epidemic typhus and by working out how tick fever is transmitted. He also to helped discover the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, a common infection that is usually harmless but can cause serious problems in some people. Nicolle also developed a vaccine for Malta fever, a disease now called brucellosis.
1866-09-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Sep 1866 | | Charles J H Nicolle was born in Rouen, FranceNicolle | | Vaccines |
A physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war. 1878-11-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Nov 1878 | | Hans Zinsser was born in New York City, USAZinsser | Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University | Bacteriology, Vaccines |
Louis Pasteur develops an attenuated chicken cholera vaccine1879-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1879 | | Chicken cholera vaccine developedPasteur | Pasteur Institute | Bacteriology, Vaccines |
Dick was a physician and bacteriologist who made his name studying scarlet fever. In 1923 he and his wife, Gladys Rowena Dick, worked out that the disease was caused by a toxin released by a strain of Streptococcus bacteria. This enabled them to create an antitoxin for treatment and vaccine for prevention. He also developed a skin test to determine a person's susceptibility to the disease. 1881-07-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Jul 1881 | | George Frederick Dick was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USAGeorge Dick | Rush Medical College | Vaccine |
Dick originally trained as a zoologist and then completed a medical degree. She made her name studying scarlet fever after she herself caught the disease. In 1923 she and her husband George Dick, worked out that the disease was caused by a toxin released by a strain of Streptococcus bacteria. This enabled them to create an antitoxin for treatment and vaccine for prevention. She also devised a technique to prevent cross infection of scarlet fever among infants. Known as the Dick Aseptic Nursery Technique this promoted strict sterilisation and aseptic procedures. 1881-12-18T00:00:00+0000| 18 Dec 1881 | | Gladys Rowena H Dick was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, USAGladys Dick | University of Chicago, John R. McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases, St Luke's Hospital | Vaccine |
Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on a nine year old boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog.1885-07-06T00:00:00+0000| 1885 | | First rabies vaccine testedPasteur | Pasteur Institute | Bacteriology, Vaccines |
Goodpasture was a research scientist who developed the first method for culturing uncontaminated viruses in chicken embryos and fertilised chicken eggs. Before this viruses were grown in living tissues which could be contaminated by bacteria. Goodpasture's method laid the foundation for the mass production of vaccines for diseases like smallpox, yellow fever, typhus and chicken pox. He was also a key pioneer in the development of the mumps vaccine. 1886-10-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Oct 1886 | | Ernest Goodpasture was born Clarksville, TN, USAGoodpasture | Harvard University | Virology, Vaccines |
Rivers was a bacteriologist and virologist whose development of a tissue culture for the vaccinia virus, in 1931, paved the way to the development of a vaccine against yellow-fever. He also made important contributions to understanding the viral causes of influenza and chickenpox. Rivers served as the director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1937-56) and chaired the virus research committee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) (1938-1955) which oversaw the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines against polio. 1888-09-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Sep 1888 | | Thomas M Rivers was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, USARivers | Rockefeller Institute | Virology, Bacteriology, Vaccines |
Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who is best known for inventing a sterilisation method for slowing down the development of microbes in milk and wine, a process now called pasteurisation. He also made significant breakthroughs in understanding the causes and prevention of bacterial diseases. His work was instrumental in helping to reduce the mortality rate from puerperal fever, a major cause of death for women in childbirth in the 19th century. Pasteur also pioneered the first rabies vaccine.1895-09-28T00:00:00+0000| 28 Sep 1895 | | Louis Pasteur diedPasteur | Pasteur Institute | Bacteriology, Vaccine |
Enders shared the 1954 Nobel Prize for helping to develop a technique to grow the poliomyeltitis virus in various types of tissue culture. This he achieved with colleagues Thomas Weller and Fredric Robbins in 1949. Their technique paved the way for Jonas Salk's development of a vaccine against polio. Enders is also renowned for having helped pioneer the first measles vaccine.
1897-02-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Feb 1897 | | John F Enders was born West Hartford, CT, USAEnders | Children's Hospital Boston | Virology, Vaccines, Infectious diseases |
Wyckoff was a major pioneer of x-ray crystallography of bacteria. He helped develop a high-speed centrifuge for segregating microscopic and submicroscopic material to determine the sizes and molecular weights of small particles. In addition he purified the virus that causes equine encephalomyelitis which laid the foundation for the development of a vaccine to combat an epidemic of the disease in horses. His work in this field enabled him to create a vaccine against epidemic typhus for use in World War II. 1897-08-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Aug 1897 | | Ralph W G Wyckoff was born in Geneva, NY, USAWyckoff | Rockefeller University, University of Michigan, University of Arizona | Bacteriology, Virology, Vaccines |
The vaccine was developed by William Coley, a New York surgeon, together with the pharmaceutical company Parke, Davis & Co. The vaccine contained a combination of heat-killed bacteria. 1899-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1899 | | First commercial vaccine developed for treatment of sarcomaColey | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Parke Davis & Co | Immunology, Cancer immunotherapy, Oncology, Vaccines |
Theiler was a physician who specialised in infectious diseases. He is best known for helping to show that yellow fever is caused by a virus and his development of a safe and effective vaccine against the disease. This work he did in the 1930s while based at the International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. His first vaccine was used by the French government to protect the residents of French territories in Western Africa. A second one, an improved version, was launched in Brazil in 1938. Over 400 million doses of this vaccine was given out to people over the next 60 years. Theiler was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1951 for his yellow fever vaccine. 1899-01-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jan 1899 | | Max Theiler was born in Pretoria, South AfricaTheiler | Pretoria, South Africa | Vaccines, Infectious diseases |
|
Respond to or comment on this page on our feeds on Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon or Twitter.