Vaccination, Inoculation and BF

A substantial historical review of vaccination and its predecessors, inoculation and variolation, is provided by MedPage with valuable links in the article. Thanks to Bernie Steutz for suggesting it. The article ends with an interesting overview: But above all, it is notable that 300 years ago, the strongest vaccine advocate was a religious fanatic, and …

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Franklin Birthday 2022

With the pandemic continuing, the American Philosophical Society moved their celebrations this year online, in a series of three events. Dr. Franklin’s Virtual Birthday Tour On Thursday, January 13, 2022 APS Museum staff Michael Madeja and Ali Rospond led the online viewers through highlights of the virtual exhibit, Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist during this afternoon …

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Franklin and Slavery

To the co-namesake of my son, Benjamin Thomas…. Dear Tom, You asked me online quite a while ago about Franklin and slavery. It’s true, he owned slaves for a while, even though later he joined (and was president of) our first society to abolish African slavery in America. It’s a tough issue for Franklinians, like …

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