Admiral Nelson’s letter reveals how he urged mistress to vaccinate their daughter against smallpox

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A freshly excavated letter from Admiral Horatio Nelson to his mistress Lady Emma Hamilton in 1801 reveals how he urged her to give their daughter the recently developed smallpox vaccine

  • Admiral Horatio Nelson’s letter urges mistress to have their daughter vaccinated
  • Letter from 1801 supports Jenner’s smallpox cure, when many were skeptical
  • Edward Jenner found that people were immune to smallpox when they got cowpox

By Luke May for Mailonline

Published: Updated:

A recently unearthed letter from Admiral Horatio Nelson to his mistress Lady Emma Hamilton revealed how he urged her to give their daughter the recently developed smallpox vaccine.

The 1801 letter, discovered in the archives of the National Maritime Museum, makes no mention of a dangerous mission to France that Nelson would make, but instead focuses on the health of his daughter, Horatia.

It was written just three years after Edward Jenner discovered milkmaids who developed cowpox by working close to the animals seemed to be protected from smallpox, the human form of the disease.

In a letter to Lady Hamilton, Admiral Nelson wrote: “The child only has a fever for two days; and there is only mild inflammation of the arm, instead of covering the entire crust. ‘

A letter from 1801 shows Admiral Horatio Nelson urging his then-mistress to have their daughter vaccinated against smallpox at a time when people were skeptical about inoculation

A letter from 1801 shows Admiral Horatio Nelson urging his then-mistress to have their daughter vaccinated against smallpox at a time when people were skeptical about vaccination

At the time, many were skeptical about the use of vaccines – after attempting to inoculate children by deliberately infecting them with smallpox, it led to the death of King George III’s son, Octavius, at the age of four.

Rob Blythe, senior curator at the National Maritime Museum, shared the letter with The Guardian, revealing a passage in which he confesses his love for his lover, Lady Hamilton.

Although both were married, neither of them had a legal child.

People were skeptical of vaccinations in the 19th century, after King George III's son died during early, later discontinued treatment for smallpox. Today, vaccinations help to fight Covid-19. Pictured: A woman in Thamesmead getting her shot today

People were skeptical of vaccinations in the 19th century, after King George III’s son died during early, later discontinued treatment for smallpox. Today, vaccinations help to fight Covid-19. Pictured: A woman in Thamesmead getting her shot today

After his death in 1805, Nelson’s father took Horatia into his home and raised her with his family.

He said: ‘Nelson is a man who acutely understands what risks mean. He faces risks at sea every day, be it life or death or injuries from gunshots, cannonballs, splinters … I think that, as a navy man, he can probably make a better risk assessment of the vaccination than others at the time.’

Mr. Blythe expects that Nelson may have heard about Jenner’s vaccine while sitting at the captain’s table.

Nelson urged his mistress, Lady Hamilton, to vaccinate their daughter Horatia against the smallpox virus

Nelson urged his mistress, Lady Hamilton, to vaccinate their daughter Horatia against the smallpox virus

He told The Guardian, “ No doubt the ship’s doctor would have been kept relatively up to date with the latest medical developments, and when the conversation fell short of a new retelling of the Battle of the Nile, the ship’s doctor might have said, ‘Did you hear? about vaccination? ‘just to try to get everyone on a different topic’.

The letter was one of more than 2,000 acquired by the Maritime Museum in 1946.

A transcript of the heroic admiral’s correspondence was published in 1814, but this letter had gone unnoticed until then.

SMALLPOX: THE HISTORY OF THE KILLER VIRUS

  • The first known victim of smallpox was Pharaoh Ramesses V of Egypt, who died in 1157 BCE. And whose mummy still bears the scars of the disease.
  • When the Spanish took it to Hispaniola – now Haiti and the Dominican Republic – where they settled for the sugar cane plantation in 1509, it killed all 2.5 million natives within a decade.
  • More than 200 years ago, doctor Edward Jenner made a crucial discovery that led to the first vaccine. He found that milkmaids who developed cowpox by working close to animals day after day seemed to be protected against smallpox, the human form of the disease.
  • In Great Britain the disease was endemic until 1935.
  • The last major outbreak in Europe was in 1972, when 20 million people were vaccinated after a pilgrim returning to Yugoslavia from Mecca infected 175 people.
  • Doctors conducted a vaccination campaign to eradicate smallpox, which was followed up in the late 1970s.
  • All countries were asked to destroy stocks of the virus or to transfer them to high-security facilities in the US or Russia. It is feared that terrorists received supplies from Russia in the 1980s.

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