| 10,000 bc |
First smallpox outbreaks occur in settlements in the Nile Valley (northeastern Africa) and Mesopotamia (now eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Iraq). |
| 3000 bc |
Smallpox epidemics recorded in China and India. |
| 1157 bc |
Egyptian pharaoh Ramses V dies suddenly. His mummified remains bear pustules characteristic of smallpox disease. |
| 490 bc |
Smallpox appears in Athens, Greece. |
| ad |
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| 583 |
Smallpox documented in Korea. |
| 585 |
Smallpox appears in Japan. |
| 700 to 1000 |
Smallpox spreads to Europe and throughout Africa. |
| 910 |
Persian physician Al-Razi publishes earliest complete work on smallpox entitled Treatise on Smallpox and Measles. |
| 1518 |
First recorded outbreak of smallpox in the New World. Infected crewmembers from a Spanish ship land on the island of Hispaniola (now Dominican Republic and Haiti) and spread the disease, killing half of the native population of the island. |
| 1520 |
Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés conquers the Aztec empire in what is now Mexico. Smallpox in one of Cortés's soldiers triggers an epidemic that kills one-third of the Aztec population. |
| 1525 |
Inca emperor Huayna Capac dies of smallpox. |
| 1534 |
King of Siam (now Thailand) dies of smallpox. |
| 1562 |
Queen Elizabeth I of England survives smallpox infection. |
| 1694 |
Queen Mary II of England dies of smallpox. |
| 1700s |
400,000 Europeans from all levels of society die yearly from smallpox.
Variolation (deliberate infection with weakened smallpox virus to induce immunity) is introduced in Europe and North America, with mixed success. Full-blown smallpox develops in about 3 percent of cases. |
| 1711 |
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I dies of smallpox. |
| 1730 |
Russian tsar Peter II dies of smallpox on the eve of his wedding. |
| 1763 |
During the French and Indian War, British troops distribute smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans in the first documented case of biological warfare. |
| 1774 |
French king Louis XV dies of smallpox. |
| 1777 |
During the American Revolution, Continental army commander George Washington orders the variolation of all his troops in case the British employ smallpox as a weapon of war. |
| 1789 |
Smallpox is introduced in Australia, where it decimates more than 50 percent of the Aboriginal population. |
| 1796 |
British physician Edward Jenner injects boy with the first smallpox vaccination, made from cowpox virus. Cowpox virus creates natural immunity to smallpox while carrying none of the risk posed by variolation with actual smallpox virus. |
| 1800s |
Despite initial resistance, vaccination gradually gains acceptance and is practiced more widely in Europe, North America, and Asia, although epidemics continue to occur worldwide. |
| 1801 |
President Thomas Jefferson initiates a program to vaccinate Native Americans. |
| 1863 |
American president Abraham Lincoln is in the early stages of smallpox infection (which he survives) when he delivers the Gettysburg Address. |
| 1948 |
The World Health Organization (WHO) is established to promote physical, mental, and social well-being worldwide. |
| 1949 |
Last naturally occurring smallpox case reported in the United States. |
| 1967 |
WHO launches worldwide vaccination campaign against smallpox, which causes more than 2 million deaths that year. |
| 1977 |
Last naturally occurring case of smallpox worldwide occurs in Somalia. |
| 1978 |
A fatal laboratory-acquired case of smallpox occurs in the United Kingdom. |
| 1979 |
WHO declares that smallpox is eradicated worldwide. |
| 1980s |
All remaining stocks of the smallpox virus are destroyed or passed to one of two secure laboratories-one in the United States and one in Russia. |
| 1999 |
After years of debate, the United States and Russia decide to postpone the destruction of remaining smallpox stock because the virus may be used in medically beneficial research. |
| 2001 |
The terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City and sporadic anthrax outbreaks trigger fears that smallpox may be used as a biological weapon. |
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