Who is your favorite unsung hero? Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is one of mine!
Had she invented something? No.
Had she pulled someone from a burning building? Well, no. And yes.
She learned what some other women–unsung heroes–were already doing in Turkey. And she tried it. Inoculation. It greatly reduced the carnage of killer smallpox!
Lady Mary brought the practice back home to England. And she had the courage to fight to promote its use, saving countless lives. Now, 300 years on, check out these three sources to learn more about her.
https://theconversation.com/lady-mary-wortley-montagu-the-forgotten-immunisation-pioneer-164256
My April 12, 2018 post about Lady Mary :
https://wordpress.com/post/beebloeser.com/4335
And my mention of her and other public health heroes in Part I, Chapter 7 of my historical memoir, Vaccines & Bayonets: Fighting Smallpox in Africa amid Tribalism, Terror and the Cold War.