text on Jesty's headstone reads: (Sacred) To the Memory OF Benj.in. Jesty (of Downshay) who departed this Life, April 16th 1816 aged 79 Years. He was born at Yetminster in this County, and was an upright honest Man: particularly noted for having been the first Person (known) that Introduced the Cow Pox by Inoculation, and who from his great strength of mind made the Experiment from the (Cow) on his Wife and two Sons in the Year 1774. References Further reading Patrick J Pead, 2003, "Benjamin Jesty: new light in the dawn of vaccination" The Lancet Volume 362, Issue 9401, 20 December 2003, pages 2104–2109 (online at ) Patrick J Pead, 2006, "Benjamin Jesty: the first vaccinator revealed" The Lancet Volume 368, Issue 9554, 23 December 2006, page 2202 Pead, Patrick J. (2016). Benjamin Jesty – grandfather of vaccination. Chichester: Timefile Books. External links Dorset Page – First Recorded Small Pox Vaccination The Jesty Family Tree – Jolyon Jesty Oxford Dictionary of Biography Jesty's portrait at the Wellcome Trust Images of England page on Jesty's famhouse in Yetminster 1736 births 1816 deaths People from Yetminster Smallpox vaccines Vaccinologists English farmers