Lady Mary Wortley Montagu introduced variolation (in the form of inoculation) to Europe in 1721 after observing the practice in the Ottoman Empire, where her husband was stationed as ambassador to Turkey.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent, high-quality sources including academic historians, medical history journals, and the Royal Society's own publications. Minor variations in dating (1721 vs 1721-22) do not contradict the core claim.
Sources
- History of smallpox vaccination (who.int)
- https://royalsociety.org/blog/2024/04/lady-marys-letters/ (royalsociety.org)
- https://historyofparliament.com/2021/01/07/mary-wortley-montagu/ (historyofparliament.com)
- https://theconversation.com/lady-mary-wortley-montagu-the-forgotten-immunisation-pioneer-164256 (theconversation.com)
- https://hekint.org/2020/07/13/lady-mary-wortley-montagu-and-smallpox/ (hekint.org)
- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsnr/article/77/2/235/48403/A-thankless-enterprise-Lady-Mary-Wortley-Montagu-s (royalsocietypublishing.org)
- https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Lady-Mary-Wortley-Montagu-Campaign-Against-Smallpox/ (historic-uk.com)