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- [00:01]
Lindsey Graham
There are more ways than ever to.
- [00:02]
Vanessa de Hahn
Listen to History Daily ad free.
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Lindsey Graham
Listen with Wondry plus in the Wondery.
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Vanessa de Hahn
App as a member of Noiser plus.
- [00:08]
Lindsey Graham
At noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts.
- [00:11]
Vanessa de Hahn
Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts@intohristory.com It's July 1, 1520, in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, Mexico, and a battle is underway. The nobleman Klitliwak is one of tens of thousands of Aztecs who have taken up arms against Spanish invaders who are trying to conquer their city. The Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes arrived on these shores with his soldiers about a year ago. At first, the Aztecs hoped to befriend the Europeans. They welcomed them as their guests, showering Cortes with gifts of gold and letting him set up camp in their main city. But Cortes did not come in peace. Within months, his soldiers started murdering Aztec priests and chiefs in an attempt to secure power. Cuitlahuac's brother, the Aztec emperor, was among the many who were slain. Now Cuitloak and his fellow citizens are hungry for revenge. They drive the Spanish to the city's edge in a series of violent skirmishes. And as the last of the departing Spaniards disappear into the distance, Cuitlahuac stops to catch his breath. He looks around at the streets littered with the bodies of the Spanish. His sword is sticky with blood, and his arm aches from the fight, but he has strength enough to rattle his shields in triumph. The Aztecs have done it, and the Spanish are gone. Though defeated in battle, these Spanish invaders have inadvertently left behind an enemy more powerful than any army.
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Lindsey Graham
When Cortez and his men return in.
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Vanessa de Hahn
Less than a year, Cuitlahuac and 40% of the city's inhabitants will be dead, and the surviving Aztec people will be too weak to mount a defense. They will have been struck down by a deadly virus now known as smallpox. Millions more will be killed by this disease in Mexico and far beyond, until centuries later, it will be announced by scientists that this curse on humanity has finally been eradicated on December 9, 1979. Hey prime members, have you heard?
- [02:22]
Lindsey Graham
You can listen to your favorite podcasts ad free. That's good news. With Amazon Music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad free top podcasts included with your prime membership.
- [02:33]
Vanessa de Hahn
To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to Amazon.com.
- [02:39]
Lindsey Graham
ADFreePodcasts that's Amazon.com ADFreeP Podcasts to catch.
- [02:44]
Vanessa de Hahn
Up on the latest episodes.
- [02:46]
Lindsey Graham
Without the ads. History Daily is sponsored by Audible, whose best of 2024 picks are here. Discover the year's top audiobooks and originals in all your favorite genres, from memoirs and sci fi to mysteries and thrillers. Audible's curated list in every category is the best way to hear 2024's best in audio entertainment, like a stunning new full cast production of George Orwell's 1984 heartfelt memoirs like Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson's lovely one, the year's best fiction, like the Women by Kristin Han, Percival Everett's brilliantly subversive title James, or a personal pick of mine, Malcolm Gladwell's latest audiobook, Revenge of the Tipping Point. Find a new favorite and get listening with Audible because there's more to imagine when you listen. Go to audible.com historydaily and discover all the years best waiting for you.
- [03:39]
Vanessa de Hahn
From Noiser and Airship. I'm Lindsey Graham and this is history. Daily history is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is December 9, 1979. The defeat of smallpox it's March 1718 in the city of Constantinople. What is Today Istanbul, Turkey, 200 years since smallpox devastated the indigenous populations of Mexico. Lady Mary Wurtzley Montague, an English aristocrat, dabs the heat from her forehead as she ushers an old lady into the British Embassy. Lady Mary hopes this local medicine woman might be able to help protect her son from smallpox. Lady Mary moved to Constantinople a year ago with her husband, the British ambassador. She was once a darling of the British aristocracy, a beautiful and witty woman who spent her days mingling with the royal family until she herself contracted smallpox. The disease left her with terrible scars and damaged eyesight, but she survived. Not everyone is so lucky. Smallpox epidemics lay waste to millions around the globe every year. In its most potent form, the disease kills 30% of the adults who catch it and 80% of children. But not in Turkey. Though smallpox is widespread here, the people survive in greater numbers and they suffer from milder symptoms. And when she first arrived, Lady Mary noticed the locals have beautiful skin, barely any scars. Then one day, while spending her free time with the wives of local Turkish officials, she saw an old woman administer an unusual procedure called variolation, something her Turkish friends claim protects against smallpox. It's common knowledge in these days that those who survive smallpox are immune to catching the virus again. And variolation involves deliberately infecting healthy people with a mild form of smallpox by rubbing the pus from an infected person into small cuts on their arms and wrists. The process causes far less severe smallpox symptoms than if the virus is caught naturally. But crucially, it still seems to provide immunity against future infections. Lady Mary has never forgotten the terror of the dark days when she nearly died from the disease. She doesn't want her son to experience that sort of pain, especially in a foreign country so far from home. So she tracked down the old medicine woman and brought her to a private room at the British Embassy. Waiting inside is the Embassy's surgeon, a man named Charles Maitland. Lady Mary wants Maitland to oversee the one as she administers the procedure on her son. Maitland has heard of variolation, but he knows very little about it. It's already practiced in China, India and Africa, but not Europe. His ignorance led him to try to talk Lady Mary out of it, but she wouldn't listen. Now Maitland watches nervously as the old woman lays out the tools of her trade. A needle to scratch the child's skin and a nutshell which contains pus from a smallpox victim. Lady Mary lifts her child onto her lap and exposes his soft white skin. Then she turns to the old lady and tells her to get on with it. After the variolation, her son will recover from the mild illness caused by the procedure without any scars. And Lady Mary will become a true believer in the process. Years later, back in London, she will insist that Charles Maitland administer the procedure to her three year old daughter, who will also recover. Soon word will spread among Lady Mary's influential circle and eventually reach the Princess of Wales, whose oldest daughter nearly died from smallpox. The Princess is desperate to inoculate her other children, but her physician is also reluctant. So too is her father in law, the King of England. Before the King risks trying out variolation on his grandchildren, he will want proof that the process is truly safe. It's August 9, 1721, in Newgate Prison, London. A few months after Lady Mary's daughter was successfully burialated. Ann Tompion, a 25 year old pickpocket, stands in a cell with five other prisoners under the watchful eye of a.
- [08:12]
Lindsey Graham
Small group of doctors.
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Vanessa de Hahn
Prisoners. All these prisoners have been sentenced to death for their crimes. But today they are smiling. They have volunteered to take part in an experiment in exchange for their freedom. The Princess of Wales was not the only person keen to explore the benefits of Lady Mary's discovery. A group of physicians also saw its potential in combating smallpox. They petitioned the King, asking if they could conduct an experiment on condemned prisoners to see if variolation works in exchange these prisoners would be given a full pardon. The king agreed, and Anne the pickpocket was one of the first volunteer. She eagerly rolls up her skirt as she glances at the doctors in their fancy clothes. Rumor has it that one of them is even the king's personal physician, but Anne is unimpressed and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. She doesn't flinch as the surgeon makes the first incision in her leg. It hurts, but not as much as the hangman's noose would. The next day, Ann's incision shows sign of infection, and a few days later her fever starts. Soon after, spots appear on her face, but the infection overall is mild and she recovers quickly without scars. The experiment seems to be a success. A month later, on September 6, Ann the pickpocket will be freed as promised, along with all the other volunteers. The outcome of the experiment is enough to convince the king to allow his granddaughters to be subjected to variolation, though he will not permit it to be done to his male heirs. But for most other folk, variolation will soon become common practice across Western Europe. But the king's hesitance is founded. Variolation is dangerous. It infects healthy people with smallpox. Those infected mostly suffer mild symptoms, but a small percentage of them will still die and they can pass the virus on, which risks further epidemics. It will be another 70 years before a safer, more effective method of inoculation is discovered with the development of the very first vaccine. History Daily is sponsored by indeed.
- [10:22]
Lindsey Graham
The last time I hired for an.
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Vanessa de Hahn
Audio editor position, I got hundreds of resumes.
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Lindsey Graham
So many that finding the right candidate.
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Vanessa de Hahn
Became a real challenge. But you know, I love a challenge.
- [10:32]
Lindsey Graham
If I have the right partner to.
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Vanessa de Hahn
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Lindsey Graham
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Vanessa de Hahn
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Lindsey Graham
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Vanessa de Hahn
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Lindsey Graham
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Vanessa de Hahn
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Lindsey Graham
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Vanessa de Hahn
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Lindsey Graham
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Vanessa de Hahn
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Lindsey Graham
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Vanessa de Hahn
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- [11:31]
Lindsey Graham
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- [12:47]
Vanessa de Hahn
It's May 14, 1796, in Gloucestershire, England, 70 years after the Newgate Prison Experiment. Edward Jenner, a country doctor, is about to conduct an experiment of his own. In front of him sits a perfectly healthy 8 year old boy. Dr. Jenner has a theory he hopes will help stave off smallpox, a disease which he calls the Speckled Monster and the most dreadful scourge of the human species. In the 1790s, variolation is still the only method used for inoculation against smallpox. But Dr. Jenner knows all too well that variolation is flawed and still dangerous. When he was eight years old, he was subjected to the process. It was a terrible experience. He almost died. And since then, he studied smallpox obsessively in search of a better way to inoculate against the disease. Today, in pursuit of that goal, Dr. Jenner plans to infect this eight year old boy with a different disease. After thoroughly examining the boy, Dr. Jenner calls into the room another patient, a milkmaid named Sarah Nelms. Sarah has caught cowpox from Blossom, one of the cows she milks. It's a disease similar to smallpox, but far less life threatening. She has minor blisters on her hands, but for the most part, her skin is silky and smooth. And she feels Being out in the country, Dr. Jenner often sees patients with cowpox. He's also aware of a common folklore that milkmaids like Sarah have clear skin because cowpox gives them immunity to the virus's deadlier cousin, smallpox. Dr. Jenner has an inkling that there may be truth in the myth, and he's going to test that theory today. Dr. Jenner smiles encouragingly at the boy as he cuts two small incisions into the child's arm. He's impressed by the boy's bravery. Next, Dr. Jenner takes Sarah's hand and cuts open one of her blisters. He scrapes some of the infection onto his scalpel as she shudders and turns away, not quite as brave. Carefully, Dr. Jenner wipes the pus from her hand into the boy's cuts before applying bandages. Six weeks later, the boy comes back to see Dr. Jenner. This time, the doctor infects the child with the more deadly smallpox virus. He's carefully watched, but the boy does not present any symptoms. A few weeks later, Dr. Jenner tries again with the same result. Still no symptoms. To Jenner, this proves the theory cowpox can give immunity to smallpox. Additionally, this process of inoculation is far safer than variolation because cowpox is not deadly, nor does it seem to spread from human to human. Dr. Jenner has just invented the first vaccination in human history in acknowledgement of its origin. The name of his discovery comes from the Latin word vacca, meaning cow. As a result of Dr. Jenner's work, vaccination would become a new weapon in the fight against smallpox. But it will be another 160 years before the whole world will unite and rid the world of the scourge that during the 20th century alone kills around 300 million people. It's October 30, 1977, in the town of Merka on the southeast coast of Somalia. A man named Ali MAU Mahlan lies in bed sick. His body is covered in a rash and his head is pounding. Ali works as a cook and an occasional vaccinator at a local hospital for the World Health Organization's smallpox eradication team. A couple of weeks ago, he offered to direct a young family with suspected smallpox to an isolation camp on the edge of town. Then he came down with a fever himself. The world is on the verge of wiping out smallpox, thanks to a global drive by the World Health Organization or the whole. Over the last 10 years, the WHO has chased down outbreaks, isolated villages and towns and provided vaccinations. Their efforts have been so effective that Somalia is the last country on earth suffering an outbreak. But it's finally under control, with all suspected cases contained in isolation camps like the one Ali went to last week. Ali knows he shouldn't have risked being in the car with young family. He's not vaccinated. It looked too painful at the time, and he never told anyone that he never got around to it. He knows he should inform the authorities that he's ill, but he doesn't want to be sent to an isolation camp. So instead, Ali hopes he can just lie here in bed until the sickness goes away. But Ali's infection is discovered when one of his friends reports his condition to local disease surveillance officials. He is immediately isolated and a containment response is put into motion. WHO officials shut down the town and trace all of Ali's contacts. Police set up checkpoints. The hospital where Ali works closes its doors to new patients. And as part of the effort to contain Ali's infection, the who vaccinates 50,000 people. Ali is lucky. He will survive, having contracted a milder form of smallpox, and the disease does not spread further.
- [17:59]
Lindsey Graham
Further.
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Vanessa de Hahn
Six months later, the WHO's office in Nairobi states that Ali Mao Malin was the world's last known smallpox case. Sadly, the WHO is wrong. Despite their best efforts, smallpox has still one more victim to claim.
- [18:22]
Lindsey Graham
History Daily is sponsored by Greenlight. We all know the old saying, give a man a fish, he eats for a day.
- [18:28]
Vanessa de Hahn
Teach a man to fish, he eats for life.
- [18:30]
Lindsey Graham
And I'll admit I haven't taugh my daughter much about fishing. But as a broader metaphor, I am trying to follow that advice and teach her important skills that will set her up for success. Like how to handle money. That's where Greenlight comes in. Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families. Parents can send money to their kids and keep an eye on kids spending and saving while kids and teens build money confidence and lifelong financial literacy skills. You can also send your kids instant money transfers, get real time notifications of spending, manage chores and automate allowance. Millions of parents and kids are already learning about money with Greenlights, the easy, convenient way to raise financially smart kids. And right now is the perfect time for you to start and get set up for a new year of financial smarts. Sign up for greenlight today@greenlight.com historydaily that's greenlight.com historydaily to try greenlight today@greenlight.com HistoryDaily.
- [19:22]
C
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- [20:14]
Vanessa de Hahn
It's August 24, 1978 at East Birmingham Hospital in England, a year after Ali Mao Mahlin was presumed to be the last person ever to catch smallpox. Professor Alistair Geddes, a consultant at the infectious diseases unit at the hospital, cannot believe his eyes. In the bed in front of him, a woman lies barely conscious, her skin covered in a rash of spots ballooning into pus filled blisters. Janet Parker, a 40 year old medical photographer, was rushed into the unit by ambulance staff. Her mother won't accept the general practitioner's diagnosis of chickenpox, remembering how different that rash was when she nursed Janet through it as a child. Professor Geddes agrees with Janet's mother. If he didn't know better, he would suspect smallpox. But the newspapers announced the last known case of the deadly virus a year ago in Somalia. Professor Geddes has a terrible feeling that there could be an explanation. Janet works in the same building as a smallpox research laboratory run by his friend Professor Bedson at Birmingham Medical School. It's possible the virus could have escaped. Professor Geddes orders that all Janet's contacts be traced and quarantined. Then he calls his friend, Professor Bedson. That night, the two men sit at the electron microscope in Professor Bedson's laboratory and confirm what they already believe to be true. Janet has smallpox. For the next three weeks, Great Britain's second largest city experiences a full scale public health emergency In a bid to contain a possible outbreak. Janet's house and car are fumigated by health officials who also vaccinate anyone she may have come in contact with. Officials place hundreds of people in quarantine and after all their efforts, only one other case is identified. Janet's mother. Eighteen days after first arriving at the hospital hospital on September 11, 1978, Janet dies, becoming the last known victim of smallpox in the world. Her mother recovers fully, having been vaccinated both as a child and again when her daughter was diagnosed. A year after Janet's death on December 9, 1979, the Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication declares the virus has been fully wiped out. The WHO's program is considered a public health triumph. In just over a decade, global cases of smallpox had dropped from between 10 and 15 million to zero. Today, the smallpox virus exists only at two WHO designated sites for research, a laboratory in the United States and one in Russia. Blossom the cow that gave Serenelm's cowpox 200 years ago will not be forgotten. Her hide is at St. George's Hospital Medical School, and her portrait hangs at the Royal College of Pathologists. But it is Dr. Edward Jenner who will go down in history as the father of immunology, the man who set the world on the path to freedom from smallpox, a feat that was finally achieved on December 9, 1979. Next on History Daily. December 10, 1690. An economic crisis in Massachusetts colony spurs the introduction of a new type of money in the West. The Banknote from Noiser and Ayrship this is History Daily Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Molly Bach Sound design by Derek Behrens Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written and researched by Vanessa de Hahn. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.