Padded wooden chair in which Dr. Edward Jenner died, British, 1770-1823

Overcome by illness and the effects of a stroke Dr Edward Jenner (1749-1823) died in this padded wooden chair in 1823. Jenner was an English country doctor who was primarily responsible for introducing vaccination to protect people from the deadly disease smallpox. The results of his early research into what bacme known as vaccination were published in 1798. While his work was initially met with much opposition and even ridicule, smallpox vaccination had become compulsory England and Wales by 1853, 30 years after Jenner’s death. The law was eventually abolished in 1909 by which time outbreaks of smallpox in the UK were rare events.