John Fewster

John Fewster
John Fewster
Born	1738
Died	3 April 1824 (aged 86)
Education	Bristol Grammar School; Bristol Infirmary;
Occupations	Surgeon; Apothecary;
Known for	His role in the discovery of the smallpox vaccine
Spouse	Betty Tyson (m. 1770)

John Fewster (1738 – 3 April 1824)^[1] was a surgeon and apothecary in Thornbury, Gloucestershire. Fewster, a friend and professional colleague of Edward Jenner, played an important role in the discovery of the smallpox vaccine. In 1768 Fewster realized that prior infection with cowpox rendered a person immune to smallpox.^[2]^[3]

Fewster was educated at Bristol Grammar School before a seven-year apprenticeship at the Bristol Infirmary.^[4]

Development of the smallpox vaccine

In 1768, Fewster noted that two brothers (named Creed) had both been variolated (purposefully infected with smallpox) but that one did not react at all to variolation. On questioning, this subject had never had smallpox, but had previously contracted cowpox. This prompted Fewster to wonder whether cowpox might protect against smallpox, a notion of which he was previously unaware. He is reported to have discussed this possibility over a Convivio-Medical Society dinner at the Ship Inn in Alveston. He also encouraged others to take up the inquiry. Amongst those at the meeting was Edward Jenner, a young medical apprentice at the time.^[5]^[6]

Fewster followed up this observation, but only to a limited extent and not in writing.

In 1796, Fewster was called to visit a local boy who was ill with early smallpox and was asked by John Player, the boy’s uncle, whether he would consider inoculating the boy with cowpox to save him from smallpox. According to Player Fewster replied that he had already thought of this but had decided against it as, in his view, variolation was very successful and an alternative seemed unnecessary. Nonetheless, Player reports, Fewster went on to inoculate three children in Thornbury with cowpox, during spring 1796. These vaccinations took place at around the same time as Jenner's first vaccination attempts.^[5]

Fewster never made any claim to have discovered vaccination.^[7]

References

^ Doig, Chris. "John Fewster & family". Thornbury Roots. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
^ Pearson, George (1798). An Inquiry Concerning the History of the Cowpox, Principally with a View to Supersede and Extinguish the Smallpox. London: J. Johnson. pp. 102–104 – via Internet Archive.
^
Many sources claim that in 1765, Fewster read a paper to the Medical Society of London titled "Cow pox and its ability to prevent smallpox". However, the Medical Society of London was created in 1773. See:
- History of the Medical Society of London Archived 14 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- Wikipedia's article: "Medical Society of London"
Furthermore, the earliest insinuation that Fewster had written a paper titled "Cow pox and its ability to prevent smallpox" appeared in 1886. See:
- L. Thurston and G. Williams (2015) "An examination of John Fewster’s role in the discovery of smallpox vaccination," Archived 16 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 45 : 173-179; see p.177.
By Fewster's own account ((Pearson, 1798), p. 102), he merely " … communicated this fact [that prior infection with cowpox provides immunity to smallpox] to a society, of which I was then a member, … ". He made no mention of having written a paper on the subject.
^ Thurston, L; Williams, G (2015). "An examination of John Fewster's role in the discovery of smallpox vaccination". Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. 45 (2): 173–179. doi:10.4997/jrcpe.2015.217. ISSN 1478-2715. PMID 26181536.
^ ^a ^b Jesty, Robert; Williams, Gareth (2011). "Who invented vaccination?" (PDF). Malta Medical Journal. 23 (2). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
^ Creighton, Charles (1889). "Chapter 3. Jenner's "Inquiry."". Jenner and Vaccination: A Strange Chapter of Medical History. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. p. 55. Dr. Jenner has frequently told me that, at the meetings of this Society [the Convivio-Medical, which met at the Ship at Alveston in the southern division of the county, and was attended, among others, by Fewster, the chief authority on cow-pox], he was accustomed to bring forward the reported prophylactic virtues of cowpox, and earnestly to recommend his medical friends to prosecute the inquiry.
^ Baron, John (1838) [1827]. Life of Edward Jenner, MD, with illustrations of his doctrines and selections from his correspondence. Vol. 2. London: Henry Colburn – via Internet Archive.

Development of the smallpox vaccine

References

See also