Smallpox vaccinations are administered in Boston.

[1799-Holloron, 1800-Aesculapian] Harvard Medical School Prof. Benjamin Waterhouse provides the vaccine to his four children and the sons of 19 leading prominent Boston citizens. They are first smallpox vaccinations in Boston (Edward Jenner administered the first in history in England on May 14, 1796). The children are then exposed to smallpox victims quarantined on Noddles Island. With the procedure shown to be effective, the Boston Board of Health orders mass vaccinations against smallpox, imposes quarantines, and takes steps to improve sanitation and hygiene in the town.