The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great Defied a Deadly Virus

Catherine II was known for her intellect and took an interest in philosophy, medicine, and the natural sciences. She invited to her court many outstanding scholars, including the English physician Thomas Dimsdale. In 1768, he arrived from London to secretly inoculate the great prince Pavel Petrovich and the empress herself against smallpox. At the time, smallpox—a deadly virus—was ravaging Europe, and Catherine II understood the threat the epidemic posed to Russia. The first large-scale smallpox inoculation campaign in Russia, carried out by Dimsdale, laid the foundation for modern vaccination practices. This secret plan by the English doctor and the Russian empress is fascinatingly described in the audiobook.