Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, February 3
    Trending
    • February 3, 2023: Some Questions on this Week’s News
    • This Day in History on February 3rd
    • History Short: The Most Important Naval Battle You Never Heard Of
    • This Day in History on February 2nd
    • History Short: What Else is February 2nd Known For?
    • Triumphs and Tragedies of the Space Shuttle Program: A Compilation
    • This Day in History on February 1st
    • History Short: Who is America’s Greatest Male Actor?
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»December»December 9»December 9, 1979: Smallpox Declared Extinct!
    December 9

    December 9, 1979: Smallpox Declared Extinct!

    Major DanBy Major DanDecember 9, 2014Updated:June 24, 20203 Comments3 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp

    A Brief History

    On December 9, 1979, history was made when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the smallpox virus in nature had been made extinct.  Only samples in labs for scientific purposes remained.

    Digging Deeper

    Smallpox is the first and so far only (major) human disease to be totally eradicated by the efforts of human science and medicine.   A terrible disease, smallpox may have first shown up in humans anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 years ago and regularly killed millions of people each year.  Many historical figures died of the disease, and the mummy of the Pharaoh Ramses V of Egypt even left physical evidence of the disease from c. 1145 B.C.. 

    Smallpox usually had a mortality rate of 20%, but it was sometimes as high 80%.  Many who survived were left scarred, blinded and with severe arthritis and limb deformities.  In fact, for millennia, smallpox was the main cause of blindness. 

    History and Headlines Trivia: The only other infectious disease believed to have been eradicated is Rinderpest, also known as “cattle plague,” an animal disease affecting cattle and ungulate (hoofed) wild animals, such as buffalos, giraffes, antelopes and warthogs.

    White settlers brought smallpox to the Americas, and Native American suffered terribly from its effects.  Like a type of germ warfare, smallpox was spread to Native Americans by Europeans over blankets and clothing which had purposely been contaminated with the virus.  Smallpox became the chief (no pun intended) cause of death among Native Americans and wiped out vast portions of their populations.  Smallpox continued to be used in biological warfare through the Cold War, when an accidental release by the Soviets of “weaponized” smallpox killed some of their own people in the Aral Sea area.

    Although Edward Jenner helped contribute to the creation of a vaccine around 1800, deaths due to smallpox would continue for the next 150+ years.  In the 1900s, there were still millions of cases, and perhaps as many as 300 to 500 million people died of smallpox during the 20th century.  In 1967 alone, an estimated 2 million people died of the disease.  It was shortly thereafter that smallpox vaccination programs and measures by the WHO to identify and isolate smallpox breakouts finally brought the disease under control, and the last-known naturally occurring cases were in Somalia in 1977 and in England in 1978 when a medical photographer became the last recorded fatality. 

    Question for students (and subscribers): What disease would you like to see be eradicated next?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Henderson, D. A. and Richard Preston.  Smallpox: The Death of a Disease – The Inside Story of Eradicating a Worldwide Killer.  Prometheus, 2009.

    Hopkins, Donald R.  The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in History.  University of Chicago Press, 2002.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous Article10 Really Great Protest Songs
    Next Article General Motors Placed in a Woman’s Hands for Proper Management
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: The Most Important Naval Battle You Never Heard Of

    February 3, 2023

    History Short: What Poison Gasses were Used in World War I?

    January 31, 2023

    History Short: Who Invented the Computer Mouse?

    January 30, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    February 3, 2023: Some Questions on this Week’s News

    February 3, 2023

    This Day in History on February 3rd

    February 3, 2023

    History Short: The Most Important Naval Battle You Never Heard Of

    February 3, 2023

    This Day in History on February 2nd

    February 2, 2023

    History Short: What Else is February 2nd Known For?

    February 2, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.