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Benjamin Franklin Regretted Letting His Son Die of Smallpox

By / / Benjamin Franklin, Francis Folger Franklin, History of Vaccines, inoculation, Roald Dahl, smallpox

Benjamin Franklin has a long list of contributions to science and medicine, from bifocals to the lightning rod.

Although he didn’t invent a vaccine, he did become a strong proponent of variolation.

Benjamin Franklin Regretted Letting His Son Die of Smallpox

Why?

His son Francis Folger Franklin died of smallpox when he was just four years old.

Tragically, he hadn’t been inoculated against smallpox yet.

Benjamin Franklin wrote about the regret that he had because his son died of smallpox without getting inoculated.
Benjamin Franklin wrote about the regret that he had because his son died of smallpox without getting inoculated.

Benjamin Franklin later wrote in his autobiography that:

“In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox, taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.”

Benjamin Franklin

Like Roald Dahl‘s letter following the death of his daughter from measles, it is a good reminder to get your kids vaccinated and protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.

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Last Updated on May 25, 2024