GAZETTE & HERALD: A COUPLE from Cherhill who are researching Dr Jan Ingenhousz have just had their work published in a prestigious journal for medical historians.
They say Dr Edward Jenner owes the Dutch doctor some thanks for the creation of a smallpox vaccination.
Dr Norman and Elaine Beale have been researching the life of Dr Ingenhousz, who is buried in a vault under St Mary's Church in Calne, for five years and have had their paper published in Medical History.
Dr Beale, who is hoping to write a biography on Ingenhousz with his wife, said: "We are quite chuffed by that but the research is on going all the time.
"We have various people in Holland and France translating letters which are mostly in 18th century Dutch and Latin."
The couple revealed Dr Ingenhousz, who also discovered photosynthesis, had advised Dr Jenner on his work.
"Thanks to Ingenhousz's comments and advice, Jenner was able to adapt and refine his now famous method of smallpox inoculation.
"The article is important for local history. Ingenhousz was a houseguest at Bowood House in 1798 when the correspondence began.
"The letters also make it very clear that the two men never met. The local lore that Ingenhousz and Jenner performed joint experiments on vaccination at Pinhills Farm, near Calne, must therefore be wrong."
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