Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A talk on the life of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, focusing on her life in Turkiye. Lady Mary travelled to Adrianople (modern day Edirne) and Constantiople (modern day Istanbul) as the wife of the British Ambassador, in the early eighteenth century. There she learned at first hand about the practice of inoculation against the deadly disease, smallpox. She ensured her only son was protected against smallpox whilst still in Turkiye, following in the footsteps of the previous ambassador. When she returned to England her only daughter was also inoculated. Young Mary, as she was called, was the first person in the West to be protected in this way.
A talk on the life of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, focusing on her life in Turkiye. Lady Mary travelled to Adrianople (modern day Edirne) and Constantiople (modern day Istanbul) as the wife of the British Ambassador, in the early eighteenth century. There she learned at first hand about the practice of inoculation against the deadly disease, smallpox. She ensured her only son was protected against smallpox whilst still in Turkiye, following in the footsteps of the previous ambassador. When she returned to England her only daughter was also inoculated. Young Mary, as she was called, was the first person in the West to be protected in this way.
