'A Shot in the Dark' by Monteverde (1898)

A sculpture of Edward Jenner inoculating a young boy. The boy depicted is said to be either Jenner's own son or his gardener's son, James Phipps, the fist child to have been inoculated by Jenner.

Edward Anthony Jenner (14 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist. Born in Gloucestershire. Having studied in London he took up a post as a Family doctor in his native Gloucestershire where he formed a Medical society and continued his academic study writing papers on several medical conditions of both humans and animals.

The earliest evidence of smallpox is from the mummified body of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses V and has devastated the world’s population for centuries. During the 18th century the disease ripped through the population of Britain; it was estimated that at the height of the epidemic 60% of the population having been infected, a third of which would not survive.

It was during the 1790s that Edward Jenner made an important connection between smallpox and the much less virulent cowpox, having treated local milkmaids. He observed that none of these milkmaids were affected by the deadly smallpox disease and hypothesised that it was the pus in the cowpox blisters that was causing this immunity.

On 14th May 1796 Jenner tested his hypothesis on James Phipps, the eight year old son of his gardener. The boy became immune to the disease.

In 1979 smallpox was declared eradicated by the World Health Organisation. It was Edward Jenner’s discovery along with his desire to distribute both the vaccination and the knowledge that led to this.

Giulio Monteverde (8 October 1837 – 3 October 1917) was an Italian sculptor and teacher. Born in Bistagno he studied and later went on to become a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. His original marble sculpture entitled “Jenner” (1878) can be seen at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Genoa. Monteverde made several bronze copies of the monument including one at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.

During the Industrial Revolution of 1750 to 1850 Manchester was transformed from a quiet rural community to a huge industrial city. The thriving economy of the city though came at a price. As thousands of men, women and children flocked to the city the living conditions for the working classes became more and more overcrowded and death and disease became a part of everyday life.