Smallpox Eradicated: Humanity Wins Global Health War
Edward Jenner proved cowpox could shield humans from smallpox in 1796, launching a century-long global campaign that eventually drove the disease to extinction. This relentless push culminated in December 1979 when scientists certified the virus's total eradication, ending an annual toll of two million deaths and sparing future generations from a scourge that once ravaged every continent.
December 9, 1979
47 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on December 9
Odoacer didn't just take Dalmatia — he bought it. The man who'd deposed Rome's last emperor five years earlier paid 2,000 pounds of gold to quiet rivals, then t…
The gates opened at dawn. Not a sword drawn, not a drop of blood. Belisarius walked into Rome with 5,000 men while the Ostrogothic garrison — outnumbered, under…
The gates stood open. No battle, no siege — just an empty city. Belisarius rode into Rome on December 9th with his Byzantine army, and the Ostrogothic garrison …
Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah had crushed rebellions across three continents. Then he rode into the Caucasus foothills with 25,000 men and met the Khazars waiting in t…
Pope Martin V issued a papal bull establishing the Catholic University of Leuven, creating the first university in the Low Countries. This institution became a …
Švitrigaila's forces clash with Sigismund Kęstutaitis near Oszmiana, igniting the most violent phase of the Lithuanian Civil War. This battle fractures the Gran…
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