Thread by @NMAAHC

#DYK? An enslaved man named Onesimus introduced the smallpox vaccine to doctors in Colonial North America. #BlackHistoryMonth

Smallpox was an extremely contagious virus that plagued much of the world for millennia, and killed 15% of Boston’s population in 1721. Some African societies had previously developed and implemented a method to combat the spread of the disease. #ANationsStory

Onesimus described to doctors the long-standing African practice of inoculation, introducing pathogens to open wounds to produce antibodies and induce immunity. #APeoplesJourney

Although Onesimus’ enslaver, Minister Cotton Mather, believed that Africans worshiped the devil and engaged in “devilish rites,” he took Onesimus’ advice and convinced a Boston doctor to inoculate hundreds of people. Learn more in our Searchable Museum: s.si.edu/3LKzeaW