Smallpox 1718. In 1721, Cotton Mather and colleagues provoked controversy in Boston by inoculating hundreds. In 1796, Edward Jenner, a doctor in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, rural England, discovered that immunity to smallpox could be produced by inoculating a person with material from a cowpox lesion. Cowpox is a poxvirus in the same family as variola. Jenner called the material used for inoculation vaccine, from the root word "vacca", which is Latin for cow. The procedure was much safer than variolation, and did not involve a risk of smallpox transmission. Vaccination to prevent smallpox was soon practiced all over the world. During the
Caitlyn Jenner D. Weldon encouraged Jenner to switch to the decathlon. In 1970, Jenner placed fifth while debuting in the decathlon at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Jenner graduated from Graceland College in 1973 with a degree in physical education. At the 1972 U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, Jenner was in fifth place in the men's decathlon, behind Steve Gough and Andrew Pettes. Needing to make up a 19-second gap on Gough in the men's 1500 metres, Jenner qualified for the Olympic team by running a fast final lap, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the other runners. ( @25:58)