History of smallpox centuries, the WHO certified the global eradication of smallpox in December 1979. Smallpox is one of two infectious diseases to have been eradicated, the other being rinderpest, which was declared eradicated in 2011. It has been suggested that smallpox was a major component of the Plague of Athens that occurred in 430 BCE, during the Peloponnesian Wars, and was described by Thucydides. Galen's description of the Antonine Plague, which swept through the Roman Empire in 165–180, indicates that it was probably caused by smallpox. Returning soldiers brought the disease home with them to Syria and Italy, where it raged for
Glad to Be Gay fight the disease"), and extended attacks on the tabloid press. From 1996, it also addressed what Robinson calls his 'late onset bisexuality'. The November 6, 1977, episode of Granada Television's "So It Goes" featured a live performance of the song by the Tom Robinson Band. In 1979, Tom Robinson performed at the "Secret Policeman's Ball", a benefit concert staged by the British section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights arena. For this performance he reinstated a verse about Peter Wells not used since the original demo. Wells was a young