Edward Jenner God for the good which he has made me the instrument of conveying to my fellow creatures." However, his contemporary Rabbi Israel Lipschitz in his classic commentary on the Mishna Tiferet Yisrael wrote that Jenner was one of the "righteous of the nations," deserving a lofty place in the World to Come, for having saved millions of people from smallpox. In 1979, the World Health Organization declared smallpox an eradicated disease. This was the result of coordinated public health efforts, but vaccination was an essential component. Although the disease was declared eradicated, some pus samples still remain in laboratories in
Edward Jenner their return home. Napoleon remarked he could not "refuse anything to one of the greatest benefactors of mankind." Jenner's continuing work on vaccination prevented him from continuing his ordinary medical practice. He was supported by his colleagues and the King in petitioning Parliament, and was granted £10,000 in 1802 for his work on vaccination. In 1807, he was granted another £20,000 after the Royal College of Physicians confirmed the widespread efficacy of vaccination. Jenner was also elected a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1802, and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy