In 1979 global eradication of smallpox was certified and would later be confirmed by the World Health Organisation a few months later
The smallpox virus is believed to have evolved over 16,000 years ago and by 1700’s it had become an epidemic killing over 1 million people each year.
In 1796 English physician Edward Jenna discovered the first vaccine to fight against smallpox. It was known that those that caught the deadly disease yet survived were immune from future contamination. People had attempted to catch weaker strains of the disease but this was far from safe. Jenna noticed that milk maids appeared to be immune to smallpox but with their close proximity to cattle they would often get the similar disease, cowpox. Jenna used cowpox as a vaccine for the deadly smallpox and slowly people around the world began to get immunised. The immunisation programmes were very difficult to implement as many in parts of India the population were untrusting of treatment. Global efforts to vaccinate continued but despite the huge effort 2 million people were still dying of the disease every year in the late 1950’s. The World Health Organisation (WHO) intensified vaccination efforts in1967 and within ten years the global death rate from smallpox had reduced significantly. A team was established to aid WHO in it monitoring efforts and on the 9th of December 1979 they declared that smallpox was eradicated from the world’s population. On the 8th of May 1980 confirmed their findings declaring that smallpox had indeed been eradicated. This was the first infectious disease to have been eradicated by human efforts.
In 1961 the United Republic of Tanzania (or Tanganyika as it was known then) became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
In 1688 William of Orange defeated James II at the Battle of Reading
On the 9th of December 1688 William of Orange defeated James II at the Battle of Reading and soon after he and his wife Mary became joint monarchs of England, Ireland and Scotland in what became known as “the Glorious Revolution”. He was deeply opposed to French King Louise XIV who had tried to invade his homeland of the Dutch Republic. James was placed in custody in the Netherlands but escaped shortly after on the 23rd of December 1688 and he fled to France. He was welcomed by his cousin Louise XIV.
The following year James sailed to Ireland to build an army and on the 1st of July 1690 his army was defeated by William III at the battle of the Boyne. James returned to France and died on the 16th of September 1701.
His son, James Francis Stuart, was immediately proclaimed James III (VIII in Scotland) of the Kingdoms by the French King Louise XVI and his supporters who later became known as “Jacobites”. In 1715 James led a Jacobite uprising in Scotland which failed.
In 1745 his son, Charles Edward Stuart (known as the Young Pretender), led another Jacobite rising which began in victory with the Battle of Gladsmuir (also known as the Battle of Prestonpans). The English forces were quickly defeated in this battle giving Charles Edward Stuart, and the Jacobites, a huge moral boost. But their victory was short lived and the following year the final Jacobite uprising ended in their defeat on the 16th of April 1745 at the Battle of Culloden.
