The Day Humanity Beat Smallpox
On May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly declared the world free of smallpox — the first and still only human disease ever eradicated.
Tagged: health
The Report That Took on Big Tobacco
On January 11, 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry released the first official report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer — a bombshell that began America's long retreat from tobacco.
The Eight-Year-Old Who Helped Defeat Smallpox
On May 14, 1796, Dr. Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with cowpox, proving the principle behind the world's first vaccine.
The Two-Page Report That Unmasked a Pandemic
On June 5, 1981, the CDC published a report of five pneumonia cases in Los Angeles — the first official warning of what would become the HIV/AIDS pandemic.