Historical figure

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

1689 – 1762

Writer and supporter of variolation 18th century United Kingdom

An English writer who observed the practice of variolation in Istanbul and introduced it to England in 1721, several decades before Jenner's vaccination.

Sources on this figure

References taken from published articles that cover this person.

Journal
Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination Stefan Riedel · Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings 18(1) · 2005 Discussed in Edward Jenner and Smallpox Vaccine: The Dawn of Modern Immunology
Book
The Life of Edward Jenner John Baron · Henry Colburn · 1827 Discussed in Edward Jenner and Smallpox Vaccine: The Dawn of Modern Immunology
Primary source
An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae Edward Jenner · Sampson Low · 1798 Discussed in Edward Jenner and Smallpox Vaccine: The Dawn of Modern Immunology

Articles covering Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Showing 1–1 of 1tal articles

Science, Medicine & Technology United Kingdom

Edward Jenner and Smallpox Vaccine: The Dawn of Modern Immunology

Smallpox is a contagious disease caused by the variola virus. For centuries, it killed most of its victims, leaving scars on survivors, and spread through human…

1796 3 min read 16 Nov 8, 2026

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