What is the connection between Jenner and Napoleon?
Jenner wrote to Napoleon during the period 1803-5 and secured the release of two English prisoners of war: a Dr Wickham and Thomas Williams. Napoleon is reputed to have said: “Ah, Jenner, je ne puis rien refuser a Jenner” (“Ah, Jenner, I can refuse him nothing”). Napoleon’s affection for Jenner was because of his appreciation that troops could be given advantage in battle if vaccinated.
