Today is International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, a perfect day to remember the 12-year-old slave boy Edmond Albius, who forever changed the taste bud of the world. A thread. (1/6) 
Edmond was born enslaved in Madagascar, where the French colonists started to grow vanilla but failed miserably as the insects refused to pollinate the vines (2/6)
The teenage slave, who lost his mother during his birth and never knew who his father was, came forward and invented an incredible and simple technique to hand-pollinate the vines (3/6)
The technique Albius developed revolutionized vanilla cultivation, making it feasible to grow vanilla beans outside their native Mexico. This kick-started a multi-million dollar industry (4/6)
The slave boy, who gave the world ‘vanilla’, was shamelessly discredited by French botanists and print media credited the invention to a white boy. He was convicted of stealing and sentenced to ten years of imprisonment (5/6)
After release, he lived a wretched life and died unceremoniously in a public hospital. Next time when you relish a scoop of vanilla ice cream or savor a bite of vanilla cake, spare a thought for Edmond, the slave boy (6/6)
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