Frank Fenner, 1914–2010
The biologist who fought smallpox, malaria, and rabbits
Frank Fenner was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for having developed methods to control malaria, which had ravaged Australian troops fighting in the Pacific in World War II. His breakthrough, in fact, was deemed to be partly responsible for the Allied victory over Japan—and that was just the first achievement in a long scientific career.
It’s difficult to quantify Fenner’s contributions to world health, said the Los Angeles Times. Born in Ballarat, Australia, he originally set out to become a geologist, “but his father convinced him medicine would be a steadier source of income.” His studies in tropical medicine at the University of Adelaide were the basis of his WWII work in the South Pacific. After the war, he studied mouse pox, smallpox, and measles. Fenner applied his learning to the plague of 600 million rabbits that had, in the absence of natural predators, overrun Australia in the 1950s, said the London Telegraph. He and two colleagues killed off about 500 million of them by releasing rabbit pox into the population—and injecting themselves with the pox to prove it wouldn’t hurt humans.
In 1969, Fenner began advising the World Health Organization on its campaign to eradicate smallpox, which at that time killed 2 million people a year, said The New York Times. By focusing first on mass inoculations, and then on quarantining patients and vaccinating their close contacts, the WHO eradicated the disease from both human and animal populations within a decade. Fenner himself pronounced the disease’s “epitaph” in an official declaration in Geneva in 1980.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The Week Unwrapped: will the US end child marriage?
Podcast Why some states have no lower limit on marriage age, plus Black maternal health and the price of olive oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Perplexity AI: has Google finally met its match?
In The Spotlight Generative AI start-up provides fast, Wikipedia-like responses to search queries
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 4 - 10 May
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published