A haunting historic photograph from 1905 captures the face of a man scarred by smallpox. Once one of history's deadliest diseases, smallpox blinded, scarred, and killed millions before a global vaccination campaign led to its eradication in 1980.

Smallpox, one of history’s deadliest diseases, likely emerged 12,000 years ago. Evidence is found on Egyptian mummies, including Pharaoh Ramses V. It ravaged humanity for centuries, striking figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Abraham Lincoln. With fevers, painful pustules, and a mortality rate up to 30%, it killed hundreds of millions—300 million in the 20th century alone. A global WHO vaccination campaign ended its terror: the last natural case appeared in 1977, and in 1980 smallpox was declared eradicated.
©olor by Sergey V. Rauzin, 2025
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Smallpox, one of humanity’s deadliest diseases, likely emerged 12,000 years ago. Traces have even been found on Egyptian mummies, including Pharaoh Ramses V, whose remains bore the signature lesions. For centuries it swept across continents, sparing no class affecting figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Abraham Lincoln, who reportedly fell ill in the White House. Highly contagious, it caused fever, painful pustules, and left survivors scarred. With a mortality rate up to 30%, it killed hundreds of millions, including 300 million in the 20th century alone. Its rapid spread made it universally feared. In the mid-20th century, the WHO launched a massive vaccination campaign, and by 1977 the last natural case appeared in Somalia. A year later, Janet Parker, a medical photographer in the UK, became the last victim after accidental lab exposure. In 1980, smallpox was declared eradicated—the first disease eliminated by human effort, a milestone in global health.
©olor by Sergey V. Rauzin, 2025