The smallpox ghost in Voltaire’s life: inoculation and the origins of vaccine acceptance

Smallpox shaped eighteenth-century debates on risk, trust, and prevention. Voltaire, marked by the disease throughout his life—the “smallpox ghost”—emerged as a prominent advocate of smallpox inoculation (variolation), a preventive practice that preceded Jennerian vaccination by several decades. Through his writings, he framed the practice as a conflict between empirical reasoning and social resistance. This Perspective examines his role in the early acceptance of preventive medicine and highlights its relevance for understanding contemporary challenges in vaccine acceptance.